Consider including the client’s partner or family in the discussions,
or arrange to meet with the family separately. Often family members
are more willing to discuss the impact of gambling than the person
who gambles. Your assessment of a client’s gambling problem may
be based on what a family member tells you.
Many partners are unaware that gambling is a problem until there is a
crisis. Clients may not want their partners to know everything that is
going on. Try to balance the idea that secrecy enables gambling with
the need to build trust and your responsibility to respect confidential
information.