BRINDISI – The activities of the “Life is not a game” project to raise awareness and combat gambling addiction organized by the ASL Brindisi in collaboration with the Teatro Pubblico Pugliese and conducted by Meridiani Perduti and Factory Compagnia Transadriatica are coming to an end.
Sara Bevilacqua, actress and director (in the attached photo in one of her last shows Stock ddò), and Morena Mazzara, psychologist and psychotherapist, carried out laboratory activities to raise awareness on the topic of gambling addiction, trying to propose protective factors that allow the gambling situation to be assessed from the perspective of a logical and critical approach that counteracts magical thinking which is the basis of cognitive biases (errors, prejudices, shortcuts of thinking) that lead to falling into the trap of gambling addiction.
The proposed path was divided into three meetings of two hours each hosted in the premises of the Auser association in Brindisi. Twenty-six participants. The methodology used was experiential, therefore group activations, psychodramatic techniques, circle time and role-playing were proposed to address various issues: from the definition of gambling addiction to the symptoms and causes of gambling pathological (GAP); from the effects of the gambler on psychological health to the psycho-affective dimension of people suffering from GAP, and finally the possible methods of intervention in situations of clinical distress caused by pathological gambling.
All those attending – support Sara Bevilacqua and Morena Mazzara – participated in the meetings creating a cohesive and supportive group. There was great collaboration and a desire for discussion between recipients and operators, through the personal involvement of each and the availability for dialogue offered by the operators. The attendance of members has always been characterized by a good level of interest and great participation, also evident from the numerous interactions and questions asked and the good quality of the papers produced. The motivational level was high, especially when the participants, having understood the purpose of the module, experienced the positive effects and usefulness of the information learned. The path required a huge commitment on the part of the members in terms of hours of attendance, commitment and personal questioning. The excellent level of hospitality allowed the process to proceed peacefully and facilitated the work of the experts, who received overall very positive feedback.
The project ends on May 30th in Mesagne in the Teatro Comunale, when at 11 am the talk/show “Fate il nostra gioco” is scheduled, organized by the Turin company Taxi1729, a staff made up of creatives, mathematicians and physicists (with a website to access which you must answer an equation https://taxi1729.it). Before and after the show there will be moments of presentation and debate with the managers and executives of the organizing bodies ASL Brindisi and Teatro Pubblico Pugliese, of the Municipality of Mesagne, of actors, directors and operators who have workers on the project and in the workshops.
The talk show Make Our Day by Taxi1729
Numbers and instincts hidden behind dreams of easy winning
The show is more pop than a conference, more serious than a show, funnier than you think. Something that goes beyond the traditional conference, which combines mathematical dissemination and social denunciation in an engaging and entertaining form. In about an hour and a half we dismantle some of the most widespread false beliefs about gambling and give back a sense of the real chances of winning through game simulations, videos and continuous interaction with the public.
Play Our Game was born from an objective and a precise belief. The objective is to reveal the rules, the little secrets and the big truths behind the immense phenomenon of gambling in Italy. The belief is that the best way to do this is to use mathematics and psychology as a kind of logical antidote, to create awareness around the game and reveal its hidden sides. Play Our Game is based on an extensive study of the mathematics and psychology of gambling, completely original, conceived by Taxi1729, a scientific dissemination company from Turin. The project was born in 2009 thanks to an exhibition dedicated to the mathematics of gambling, and since then it has developed into many different experiences: a conference, a laboratory, an exhibition, a TV format, a training course for teachers and healthcare workers and, from 10 March 2016, also a book.
