Season 2, Episode 13: Gambling Addiction, Shame & Feeling Good Enough – Joel Bild
This episode discusses gambling addiction, shame, co-dependency, self-esteem and masculinity.
This episode of A Bunch of Therapists is proudly sponsored by The Awareness Centre Training School. If you’ve ever thought about becoming a therapist or are looking to enhance your clinical skills, TAC Training School offers a complete, supportive pathway into the profession. From foundation-level counselling courses to their BACP-accredited Diploma in Integrative Counselling and Diploma in Clinical Supervision, their programmes are led by expert tutors and designed to help you grow into a confident, ethical and skilled practitioner. To find out more, visit www.tactrainingschool.com and take the next step in your therapy journey.
Join us for a fascinating and refreshingly honest conversation with therapist and coach Joel Bild as he shares his journey from a teenage gambling addiction that spiralled out of control, to finding his way through years of self-exploration and ultimately training as a therapist.
This compelling discussion explores the shame and co-dependency that can underpin addiction, and why that elusive sense of “feeling good enough” is so central to our wellbeing.
In this compelling episode, Joel openly shares:
- His first encounters with gambling during his school years
- Spending his bus money on fruit machines and the gradual pull of addiction
- His family recognised the problem and referred him to therapy in his teens<
- The addiction spiralled out of control by the time he reached university
- The long and non-linear journey of overcoming addiction through self-exploration
- Waiting until he felt “grown up enough” to train as a therapist
- Working with clients on confidence, self-esteem and addiction
- His thoughts on co-dependency and the role it plays in addictive behaviours
- Unpacking shame and how it keeps people stuck
- Exploring masculinity and vulnerability
- The search for that elusive feeling of being “good enough”
This essential conversation offers valuable insights for anyone navigating addiction, struggling with shame, or on their own journey towards self-worth and confidence.
Key topics discussed:
- Gambling addiction and how it can take hold from a young age
- The role of shame in addiction and recovery
- Co-dependency and its connection to addictive behaviour
- Family intervention and the introduction to therapy
- The long road of self-exploration and personal growth
- Masculinity, vulnerability and emotional honesty
- Confidence and self-esteem in recovery
- Feeling “good enough”: what it means and why it matters
- Using lived experience to inform therapeutic practice
- Working with clients on addiction and self-worth
Learn more about Joel Bild.
