How this works
An honest guide, not a treatment centre.
Gaming Recovery exists for two people at once: the player who half-knows — reading this at 3 a.m. on the machine in question — and the parent outside the closed door, watching the grades slide and the nights invert. Both deserve a map that neither panics nor flatters, written by people who don't think games are evil.
We are an independent educational and treatment-navigation resource, not a counselling service and not a treatment centre. Every guide is written in plain language against public clinical standards — our self-check is built against the picture the World Health Organization's ICD-11 uses for gaming disorder (impaired control, gaming taking priority over other parts of life, continuing despite harm), rebuilt in our own words, with a player mode and a parent mode. It is an educational screen, never a diagnosis.
When you ask us to connect you, we confirm the fit and make a warm introduction — with your express consent, and only to licensed providers you approve. We say plainly how we are paid: providers pay us flat marketing fees for introductions, never a share of what you spend and never per-admission. Peer-support fellowships are described in our own words; we are not affiliated with any of them.
We are not an emergency service. If things feel unsafe tonight — self-harm talk, despair that frightens you — the crisis lines on every page connect you to people who can help right now: 988 for anyone, and Kids Help Phone for anyone under 25. Screens are a solvable problem, and people come back from exactly where you are.
Editorial policy
Every guide is written in plain language by our own team and checked against current Canadian clinical guidance before publishing. Fellowship descriptions are our own words — we never republish another organization's literature or schedules. Where a placement is paid, it is labelled, and it never changes what we recommend.
How we make money
The service is free for people seeking help. When you ask us to connect you and give your consent, we introduce you to matched licensed providers, who pay us flat marketing fees for those introductions — never a share of what you spend, never per-admission. Treatment navigation is kept strictly separate from any commercial relationship.
Corrections
When we get something wrong, we say so in the open. Spot an error? Email hello@gamingrecovery.ca and we'll review it and fix it, with a dated note where it matters.
Part of a network
Gaming Recovery is one of the independent recovery resources in the Rehab Near Me network, which share a single consent-gated connection service. Each site is its own resource; the shared spine is only how a consented request is safely routed.
Straight answers
Is this confidential?
Yes. You can read everything and take the self-check without an account or an email — the self-check runs entirely in your browser and nothing is stored or sent. If you choose to send a connection request, we ask for your express consent first, and your details go only to the licensed providers matched to your request. We never sell your information to data brokers or advertisers.
Does it cost anything?
Using Gaming Recovery is free. Much of the help itself is free too: youth mental-health services are publicly funded, many provinces fund outpatient counselling that covers behavioural addictions, and every fellowship meeting costs nothing. Private programs charge their own fees, which you confirm directly with the provider — we never quote prices on your behalf.
Is the self-check a diagnosis?
No. It's an educational screen written against the picture the WHO's ICD-11 uses for gaming disorder — impaired control, gaming taking priority over daily life, and continuing despite harm, usually persisting 12 months or more. It can tell you whether this is worth taking seriously and where to start — but only a qualified professional can make a diagnosis. Your answers never leave the page.
Are you anti-gaming?
No. Most people who play a lot are fine, and plenty put serious time into games the way others put it into hockey or guitar. The problem starts when the game stops making room for anything else — sleep, school, work, people. That line is what this site is about, for the player and for the parent. Not sure which side you're on? The self-check has a mode for each.
We are not an emergency service. If tonight feels unsafe — despair, self-harm talk, a blow-up that frightened you — call or text 988, any hour. Under 25? Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868.