Understanding problem gambling as a vicious cycle and using this as a counselling intervention helped me to provide counselling consistent with the principles of Rogerian counselling.
The counselling intervention example
In the counselling session with Client Zed, an invented problem gambling client, I wrote keywords that he used on a whiteboard under three headings: (1) What he liked about gambling, (2) What he disliked about it, and (3) Other issues in his life. I saw a cycle linking what he had said:
I presented this cycle to him on the whiteboard, saying, “There seems to be a cycle at work here: (1) The more you gamble to feel respected during your winning streaks, (2) the more money you lose and the less respect you receive at home and work. (3) This increases your need for respect, which (4) throws you right back into gambling to feel respected. This vicious cycle could be driving your gambling.”
For Client Zed, seeing this cycle clearly presented on the whiteboard was a revelation. Rather than viewing himself as “crazy” or lacking willpower, he saw how his gambling was both providing respect and destroying respect.
The example counselling session page details this session.
Being genuine
Rogerian client-centred therapy proposes that the therapist is genuine and open with clients.
When I first worked with problem gamblers, their gambling did seem crazy to me, and I did not tell my clients this. One advantage of developing and using these cyclic interventions was that I came to view clients as caught in vicious cycles. So, when I made my intervention with client Zed, I was able to be more open and genuine with him about how I viewed him and his situation.
Unconditional positive regard
Rogerian person-centred therapy proposes that the counsellor offers the client unconditional positive regard by accepting and valuing the client without judgment or criticism.
Seeing problem gambling as a vicious cycle helped me put aside judgment about problem gamblers as crazy. I had a logical and constructive way of viewing problem gambling, and this helped move towards unconditional positive regard.
Providing empathy
Another central aspect of client-centred therapy is empathy.
The therapist understands the client’s thoughts and feelings as the client experiences them and conveys this understanding to the client.
The process I used, and my understanding of problem gambling as a vicious cycle, helped me understand Zed’s situation, identify how important respect was to him, and communicate this in a way he found helpful and accurate. It helped me offer him empathy.
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Person-centred approach to counselling: Counselling Tutor website
First Loaded: 19 Dec 2025. Updated 22 Dec 2025