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Gordon Moody

A gambling treatment landmark in the UK

In 1971, Reverend Gordon Moody created a hostel in south London offering a helping hand to those struggling with gambling addiction. Over the next 50 years, our experience of working in a residential setting with this service user group developed into the unique therapeutic programmes that we now offer. 

Today we are the leading provider of gambling therapy services in the UK and a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by gambling related harm. 

At Gordon Moody we deliver a range of services from residential treatment to online support. For many looking for help it can be confusing as to which option is right for you or a family member or friend.

Get in touch with one of our team and they can help talk you through the process and work out what could be the best option for you or someone you are trying to help.

We currently concentrate on providing the following:

  1. Residential Treatment – three unique specialist centres providing an intensive evidence-based recovery programme for those severely affected by gambling disorders, as well as respite, counselling, and support for families.
  2. Recovery House – a residential relapse prevention and aftercare programme for those who have completed our treatment programmes requiring additional ‘halfway’ support.
  3. Retreat & Counselling Programme – a flexible, agile and inclusive service, offering both female and male specific separate retreat programmes which combine a short-stay residential with at-home counselling support. 
  4. Wrap-around Support – providing a seamless care journey and supporting a healthy family and society re-integration through facilitating pre-treatment support as preparation for the residential and retreat & counselling programmes, post-treatment support for maintain recovery and family and friends support to help those who are affected by their loved one’s gambling addiction. 
  5. Therapy for Gambling Addiction – an international brief intervention on-line support, advice, and signposting, through 121 and group sessions, and a unique Gambling Therapy (GT) support App provided in a wide range of languages.

Our view on addiction

Our experience is that anyone who gets caught up in the downward spiral of problem gambling finds only too soon that the negative impact on their life can be devastating. An all-consuming compulsion to gamble at any cost leads to difficulties which affect employment, family relationships, mental and physical health and our overall quality of life. And of course, problem gambling does not just affect the individual. It is estimated that for every problem gambler at least six other family members (with a disproportionate impact on children of problem gamblers), friends and colleagues are also directly affected, ultimately leading to a significant negative impact on the wider society.

Our view on recovery

Our model of care is an approach that values compassion and offers understanding and support. We help people to create a clear picture of how they want their life to look like in recovery, to understand the vast field of possibilities that they are presented with and the transformations that must take place to find themselves where they want to be. 

Our purpose is to create safe, caring environments and programmes that empower our service users to make positive lasting changes and live fulfilled lives. 

All our interventions are tailored to our service users’ needs and our recovery focus builds on the individual’s strengths and capacity to flourish. 

Ensuring clinical excellence

The programmes at Gordon Moody are delivered by highly qualified professionals, from accredited psychotherapists to clinical psychologists, who are trained and equipped to focus not just on the gambling addiction, but also on other co-occurring addictions or mental and emotional health conditions. 

We carry out comprehensive assessments that help us integrate appropriate therapies into personalised treatment programmes that address each service user’s unique needs.  Our programmes combine a wide range of specialised individual and group interventions such as cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectical behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, motivational interviewing, integrative psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapies, creative and art therapies or family therapies.

Our support staff also have a variety of health and social care training and experience across housing, welfare benefits, advice and information, psycho-education, teaching and group-work.

All our clinical staff adhere to BACP guidelines and we use clinical supervision to provide our staff with regular and ongoing opportunities to reflect in depth about all aspects of their practice to work as effectively, safely and ethically as possible.

We are constantly optimising our prevention and treatment interventions by acknowledging the importance of the current gambling environment, particularly given the rapid growing of internet-based gambling and changes in regulations.