Workshop 2: Steering Through the Storm: Practical Transdiagnostic Tools to Respond to Substance Use and Gambling Harm
Tracks
Monarch Room - In-Person Only
| Wednesday, May 27, 2026 |
| 1:40 PM - 2:40 PM |
Overview
Georgia Dellosa & Nicholas Kerswell, Lives Lived Well
Details
Three Key Learnings
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Speaker
Georgia Dellosa
Gambling Harm Reduction Trainer
Lives Lived Well
Steering Through the Storm: Practical Transdiagnostic Tools to Respond to Substance Use and Gambling Harm
Abstract
People rarely experience challenges related to only one behaviour. Substance use, gambling, and other compensatory behaviours often cluster together, reflecting shared underlying traits rather than separate experiences. Features such as impulsivity, emotion regulation difficulties, avoidance, and reward seeking are common across these behaviours and influence both their development and maintenance.
This workshop moves beyond addiction categories to explore how understanding shared mechanisms can make treatment more efficient, flexible, and person-centred. Drawing on Lives Lived Well (LLW) client intake data, we’ll briefly examine patterns of polysubstance use and gambling, and how these relate to psychological traits and adversity among people seeking treatment. Building on this foundation, participants will learn a range of bite-sized, low-intensity interventions that target these transdiagnostic processes - tools that can be applied across behaviours without requiring new treatment models.
A brief overview of Motivational Interviewing (MI) will demonstrate how it can serve as a guiding, adaptable framework for embedding these strategies into everyday practice. We’ll discuss how practical interventions can be applied across multiple client presentations to strengthen self-regulation and motivation for change.
This workshop moves beyond addiction categories to explore how understanding shared mechanisms can make treatment more efficient, flexible, and person-centred. Drawing on Lives Lived Well (LLW) client intake data, we’ll briefly examine patterns of polysubstance use and gambling, and how these relate to psychological traits and adversity among people seeking treatment. Building on this foundation, participants will learn a range of bite-sized, low-intensity interventions that target these transdiagnostic processes - tools that can be applied across behaviours without requiring new treatment models.
A brief overview of Motivational Interviewing (MI) will demonstrate how it can serve as a guiding, adaptable framework for embedding these strategies into everyday practice. We’ll discuss how practical interventions can be applied across multiple client presentations to strengthen self-regulation and motivation for change.
Biography
Georgia Dellosa is a Gambling Harm Reduction Trainer at Lives Lived Well, and a PhD candidate at CQUniversity and a research worker with the Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory (EGRL). Georgia has worked in AOD treatment for over a decade in various settings, and is passionate about responding to the intersections of harm experienced by vulnerable people. In her current role, Georgia provides training focused on identification and response to gambling harm in high-risk populations. Her PhD examines the intersection of gambling and substance use within Australian AOD settings, and aims to inform practical, person-centred approaches that improve treatment outcomes.
Dr Nick Kerswell
Clinical Implementation Specilaist
Lives Lived Well
Steering Through the Storm: Practical Transdiagnostic Tools to Respond to Substance Use and Gambling Harm
Biography
Nick is a clinical psychologist and board approved supervisor with experience across diverse settings in mental health and AOD clinical work. His doctoral research focused on the assessment and treatment of trauma, work which has continued with the UQ LLW Research Group and Lives Lived Well. As chair of the Research Working Group, he coordinates research activity across LLW and ensures contemporary evidence-based practice is reflected in LLW’s clinical practices. Nick is also a frequent contributor to organisational learning and training activities, and a facilitator of several implementation projects including First Step, Red Dust Healing, and Cognitive Processing Therapy.
