Confidential · Online & in person · Across the UK
Specialist counselling for people who want to stop, people who are not sure yet, and the families waiting alongside them. No judgement, no waiting list, and a first call that costs nothing.
What we offer
Whether you are gambling daily, trying to stay stopped, or watching someone you love struggle, there is a way in that fits.
Private weekly sessions with a counsellor who specialises in gambling. We look at what drives the urge to bet, build practical tools to interrupt it, and work on what life looks like beyond gambling.
Gambling rarely affects one person alone. We offer sessions for partners, parents and adult children, whether or not the person who gambles is ready to attend.
Facilitated groups of six to eight people at a similar stage of recovery. Hearing your own story in someone else's words is often the moment things start to shift.
Recovery does not end when sessions do. We put a written plan in place, offer monthly check-ins and keep the door open if a difficult patch arrives later.
“We do not ask people to prove they have a problem. We ask what they would like to be different.”
Helen Okafor, clinical leadAbout Steady Ground
Steady Ground was set up by counsellors who spent years in NHS addiction services and saw how many people with gambling problems fell between the gaps: too "functional" for crisis services, too ashamed to tell their GP, and unconvinced that generic counselling understood what they were dealing with.
We built the service we wished had existed. Specialist, quick to access, straightforward about money, and honest that recovery is rarely a straight line.
Every counsellor here works only with gambling and the problems that travel with it. You will not have to explain how a betting app works.
Early mornings, evenings and Saturdays, online or in Bristol. Most people have a first appointment within two working days.
CBT, motivational interviewing, systemic and mindfulness-based work, chosen and combined to suit you rather than applied by rote.
How we work
The journey
People often put off calling because they do not know what they are signing up for. Here is the whole path, start to finish.
Start with a free callFifteen minutes with a member of the team. You tell us as much or as little as you like, we explain how sessions work and answer any questions.
A longer first session to understand your history with gambling, what else is going on in your life, and what you want to be different.
Together you set goals and choose a mix of approaches. Most people start with weekly sessions for eight to twelve weeks, then review.
Each week you leave with something concrete to try. Blocking software, money arrangements, urge logs and conversations with the people around you.
When regular sessions end, we agree a relapse plan and check in monthly for a year. If a wobble comes, you do not have to start from the beginning.
In their words
I had told myself for years that I could stop whenever I wanted. The first thing my counsellor did was not argue with that. By the third session I had said out loud, in my own words, why I needed to stop, and that changed everything.
The family sessions were hard. My husband had to hear what the last two years had been like for me, and I had to hear that he was terrified. We now have a money arrangement that we both agreed to, not one I policed.
The urge log felt silly at first. Then I noticed every entry said "Sunday evening, alone, phone in hand". Once you see the pattern that clearly, you can plan around it.
Free resources
Common questions
If your question is not here, ask us on the phone or by email. There is no such thing as a silly question about this.
Get in touchYes. Nothing you say leaves the room unless you or someone else is at serious risk of harm, or we are required by law to share it. We explain exactly what that means in your first session, and nothing is shared with employers, family or anyone else without your written consent.
No. Many people are still gambling when they first contact us, and some are not sure they want to stop at all. That is a perfectly good place to start a conversation.
One-to-one sessions are £65, group sessions are £25 and family sessions are £85. We hold a number of reduced-fee places for people on low incomes or dealing with gambling-related debt. Please ask; the question is never awkward to us.
Yes. Around two thirds of our clients meet their counsellor by secure video call. In-person sessions are available at our Bristol centre.
A fifteen-minute call with no obligation. We will listen, explain how sessions work, and you decide what happens next.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. This website offers information and counselling and is not an emergency service.