Since 2010, Ben has been helping rehabs around the world connect with patients through the Internet, from de-addiction centers in India reaching low-income treatment seekers on their mobile phones to centers in the U.S. attracting luxury clientele. He’s passionate about providing in-depth, unbiased information that helps people make educated decisions during a crucial time in their lives.
Recovery.com, the online resource that connects people to more than 20,000 mental health and addiction treatment providers, and The HelpHUB™, an inclusive online resource featuring 16+ curated categories of mental‑health resources, today announced a strategic partnership designed to make finding help faster, simpler, and more personalized.
As part of the partnership, The HelpHUB™ Founder and mental‑health advocate Lisa Sugarman, recently a guest on the podcast Giving Voice to Mental Health, will join Recovery.com Contributor’s Network as an editor focused on suicide‑prevention content, expanding the partnership’s capacity to address one of the most urgent issues in behavioral health.
Recovery.com is now prominently featured across The HelpHUB™ website as the preferred finder for mental‑health and addiction treatment, giving visitors an immediate bridge from helpful resources to treatment options.
A trusted leader meets an innovative newcomer
Founded in 2017, Recovery.com pairs independent research with expert guidance to help everyone find the best path to recovery. The site attracts more than 300,000 treatment seekers each month and supports people connecting directly to treatment providers to start their own recovery story.
Launched in 2024 by Boston‑based mental health advocate, three-time suicide loss survivor, and crisis counselor with The Trevor Project Lisa Sugarman, The HelpHUB™ offers a one‑stop shop of crisis hotlines, self‑help tools, and community‑specific resources spanning BIPOC, LGBTQ+, veteran, disability, youth, and other populations. Its mission is to ensure that help and hope are always only a click away.
This partnership is about turning awareness into action, says Sugarman. “By connecting The HelpHUB™’s trauma-informed resources with Recovery.com’s trusted treatment directory, we’re helping people go from ‘I need help’ to ‘I’m getting help’—faster, easier, and with support that meets them exactly where they are.
Lisa Sugarman | Founder of the the HelpHUB™
What the partnership delivers
Navigation: Visitors who start on The HelpHUB™ can seamlessly transition from educational content to geo‑filtered provider options on Recovery.com.
Expert content: Lisa Sugarman will support articles addressing suicide‑related issues, leveraging her expertise and lived experience.
Recovery.com reinforces its commitment to advertiser quality with enhanced verification aligned with industry standards
July 15, 2025 – Recovery.com, a leading platform connecting individuals with trusted addiction treatment resources, today announced a new partnership with LegitScript, an independent certification organization. This partnership expands Recovery.com’s existing advertiser verification processes to require LegitScript certification for certain advertisers, aligning its standards with those enforced by major platforms, including Google, Meta, and Microsoft.
“We’re excited to take this additional step to verify the credibility of our advertisers,” said Ben Camp, Founder and CEO of Recovery.com. “Recovery.com has always maintained a robust advertiser review process, and this collaboration with LegitScript builds on that foundation. Over the past several months, we’ve had detailed conversations with their team about what effective and scalable certification could look like.”
“At LegitScript, we’re committed to building a more trustworthy internet by helping platforms and providers meet high standards of transparency,” said Angela Salter, Director of Sales and Partnerships at LegitScript. “We’re proud to partner with Recovery.com in expanding access to ethical, evidence-based addiction treatment. Their leadership in adopting independent certification reinforces a growing industry-wide commitment to protecting patients and elevating care.”
A Stronger Standard for Ethical Marketing
Recovery.com’s partnership with LegitScript reflects a broader industry movement toward standards regarding permissible online advertisements for addiction treatment services. While Recovery.com already employs a strict internal verification system, the addition of LegitScript’s third-party certification brings new levels of transparency and accountability.
LegitScript certification will be required for advertisers who meet the following criteria:
Operate in the United States or Canada
Provide Substance Use Disorder (SUD) primary treatment
Offer Intensive Outpatient (IOP) or higher levels of care, including Detoxification, Residential, or Inpatient treatment services
Streamlined Integration for Recovery.com Advertisers
As an official partner, Recovery.com is working directly with LegitScript to streamline the certification process and integrate it into its onboarding and compliance workflows. Advertisers who are already certified — or those beginning the certification process — will have dedicated support to help them achieve certification.
Industry-Wide Momentum Toward Accountability
This decision aligns Recovery.com with other digital platforms, including Google, Meta, and Microsoft, which also require LegitScript certification for addiction treatment advertising. “This is about more than compliance,” said Camp. “It’s about helping people in crisis connect with safe, ethical, and effective care. We’re proud to contribute to that mission — and to partner with others who are just as committed to raising the standard for the industry. Patients and loved ones have a right to know that the information they see online is accurate and trustworthy.”
Need Support or Have Questions?
Providers who wish to review their eligibility or seek assistance in the certification process should reach out to their performance manager.
The acquisition reinforces Recovery.com’s mission to simplify access to mental health and addiction treatment
MADISON, WI — Recovery.com, the world’s most comprehensive platform for mental health and addiction recovery, today announced its acquisition of Madison-based AI startup RedFox AI. The move reinforces Recovery.com’s commitment to responsible AI innovation and sets the stage for the development of new AI-powered tools to better connect people with care.
The acquisition brings RedFox AI’s conversational technology and its cofounders, Nick Myers and Brett Brooks, into Recovery.com’s growing team. Myers will serve as Recovery.com’s new Director of AI Innovation, leading efforts to integrate artificial intelligence across internal operations and into the company’s product roadmap. Brooks will join the engineering team to help scale AI features across Recovery.com’s platform.
“We see AI as a powerful tool to advance our mission of building the best place online to find mental health and addiction treatment,” said Ben Camp, CEO and Co-Founder of Recovery.com. “We’ve already started weaving AI into our product and internal workflows, and the addition of the RedFox team will help us accelerate that work while keeping trust, safety, and patient focus at the center.”
RedFox AI is best known for its product Navigator, a voice-guided assistant designed to help users complete at-home diagnostic tests based on FDA-regulated instructions. Its underlying architecture—a constrained retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) approach designed to minimize hallucinations—aligns with Recovery.com’s vision for building responsible AI in behavioral health.
Recovery.com’s relationship with the RedFox team, which also has deep roots in Wisconsin’s technology community, began as they worked side by side for years at Madison startup hub StartingBlock. Myers, an award-winning entrepreneur and recent appointee to the Wisconsin Technology Council Board of Directors, is himself a familiar figure in the Madison and Wisconsin startup scene, with his leadership further strengthening Recovery.com’s growing presence in the region.
“Since first crossing paths with Ben Camp, Jeremiah Calvino, and the Recovery.com team at StartingBlock in 2021, we’ve always admired their mission, and in many ways have always had a mutual value alignment – it’s been incredible witnessing their momentum firsthand,” said Myers. “Joining forces allows us to apply our technology and experience where it matters most – helping people get the right care, faster. We couldn’t be more excited to join the Recovery.com team!”
Mark Bakken, Managing Partner of HealthX Ventures and board member at Recovery.com said, “I’ve gotten to know Nick and the RedFox team over the past couple years and I’ve been impressed by their focus on building patient-centric AI solutions. Seeing them team up with Recovery.com is a proud moment for Madison’s startup community. This kind of creative partnership is exactly the type of thing that moves digital health forward.”
This announcement comes amid continued growth for Recovery.com, which was recently ranked in the top 4% of the 2025 Inc. 5000 list and recognized as the #1 fastest-growing company in Madison. The company also just announced the addition of veteran healthcare leader Sean Kell to its Board of Directors, as well as an investor.
About Recovery.com Recovery.com is the world’s most comprehensive platform for mental health and addiction recovery. With over 20,000 providers and an AI-powered search experience, the company helps millions of people find the right care for their unique journey. Learn more at www.recovery.com.
Leading digital platform for finding addiction and mental health treatment continues growth with addition of former A Place For Mom CEO
MADISON, WI — Recovery.com, the global platform that connects families and individuals to mental health and addiction treatment options, added veteran healthcare leader Sean Kell to its Board of Directors and its investor group.
Kell is currently the Chief Executive Officer of MD², a concierge medicine group with 29 practices across 13 states. He brings a strong track record of building successful businesses in online marketplaces, digital innovation, and product management—expertise that aligns seamlessly with Recovery.com’s mission.
Most notably, Kell served for eight years as CEO of A Place for Mom, where he led the senior living marketplace’s brand strategy and business expansion. Prior to that, he held key leadership roles at Expedia, overseeing Hotels.com and later managing Expedia.com’s global online travel operations. His experience also includes senior positions at renowned organizations such as Starbucks, McKinsey & Company, and IBM.
“I’m excited to join the team at Recovery.com as both a board member and investor,” said Kell. “Spending time with the remarkable team in Madison was one of the most inspiring moments of my career. I’m eager to contribute to the company’s growth and share insights from my experience in scaling digital marketplaces, building consumer-facing brands, and fostering high-performing cultures.”
Recovery.com, with its growing network of more than 21,000 treatment centers worldwide, last year ranked #196 on the Inc. 5000 list, which honors America’s fastest-growing private companies; it ranked #2 in Wisconsin and #1 in Madison, where it was founded. The company recently released the first-of-its-kind State of Recovery 2025 report, highlighting trends and insights in addiction and behavioral healthcare, and continues to broaden its media platform with its portfolio of podcasts including the recently-launched Recoverycast hosted by Tom Farley as well as Terry McGuire’sGiving Voice podcast series – Giving Voice to Addiction, Giving Voice to Depression, and Giving Voice to Mental Health.
About Recovery.com Recovery.com (formerly RehabPath) was created in 2017 to help people discover a path to recovery that is right for them, starting with landing on websites they can trust. It aims to provide unbiased, educational, helpful information about treatment for addiction and mental health, with a goal of connecting individuals worldwide with the right mental health and addiction treatment options. Recovery.com: The best place to find mental health and addiction treatment for anyone, anywhere. To learn more, visit Recovery.com.
Madison, WI – Recovery.com, a leading digital platform that helps patients connect with mental healthcare providers announced today that Jason Krantz, founder and Executive Chairman of Definitive Healthcare has made a significant purchase of Recovery.com stock, giving him an approximately 7% stake in the company.
Joe Mirisola, Definitive Healthcare’s first employee and former Chief Revenue Officer, has also joined the Recovery.com ownership group and will join the Recovery.com Board as an Observer.
“I’m humbled and excited to have Jason and Joe join Recovery.com as we continue on our mission to help patients connect with mental healthcare providers across the country and around the world,” said Ben Camp, CEO and co-founder of Recovery.com. “We are going to benefit greatly from their experience and expertise in taking a successful healthcare startup from an idea to a publicly traded company.”
Jason Krantz expressed his enthusiasm for Recovery.com, “Ben and his team have created an outstanding company that plays a unique and critical role in helping mental health patients find the care that they need. I am proud to be part of the journey and look forward to partnering with Ben to build on the company’s remarkable growth.”
Mark Bakken, Managing Partner of HealthX Ventures, Series A investor and board member in Recovery.com, helped connect the new investors with Recovery.com. “Recovery.com is fortunate to have the founders of Definitive Healthcare as investors because their visionary expertise in healthcare technology and their proven track record of success brings invaluable insights and resources to the table. With their support, Recovery.com is poised to reach new heights in its mission to empower individuals on their paths to wellness and recovery.”
About Recovery.com
Recovery.com (formerly RehabPath) is the most trusted online platform for connecting patients and mental health providers. Rapidly growing and profitable, they help more than 200,000 people every month from Madison to Mumbai find treatment options tailored to their specific needs, while providing treatment centers with an alternative, patient-first advertising channel to reliably connect with patients who are the right fit for their programs.
About Definitive Healthcare
Definitive Healthcare is the most comprehensive and accurate source for data insights and analytics on the healthcare provider and influencer market. Their platform offers unparalleled access to detailed and accurate information, enabling organizations to identify market opportunities and optimize strategies. Notable achievements include rapid revenue growth, seven strategic acquisitions and raising hundreds of millions in funding. In 2021, they successfully completed an IPO. Thirteen years and counting after its founding, Definitive Healthcare continues to help clients uncover the right markets, opportunities and people, so they can shape tomorrow’s healthcare industry.
About HealthX Ventures
HealthX Ventures is a digital healthcare-focused venture capital firm, investing in innovative companies making healthcare safer, more efficient, and more affordable by delivering easy-to-use, cost-effective, and scalable solutions to the market. With joint HQs in San Francisco and in close proximity to Epic Systems’ Madison, WI headquarters, HealthX is led by seasoned, successful entrepreneurs and investors. The team provides unique value to portfolio companies through extensive operational support, deep industry knowledge, and executive-level networking.
Recovery.com provides an exceptional new home for RehabPath’s industry-leading product for finding mental health treatment options.
RehabPath, one of the fastest-growing startups in behavioral health tech, has taken a massive step forward in their pursuit to connect people with quality mental health and addiction treatment.
The health-tech firm, founded in 2017, recently purchased Recovery.com and moved their product there for a total investment north of $1 million, as they pursue their mission to break down barriers that make it challenging for families and individuals to find trusted treatment options online.
“We’ve spent years building and refining an online resource–nearly every person seeking mental health treatment begins their search online–that is easily findable and empowers patients, family members, and referring professionals to make informed decisions that ultimately lead to more people receiving care,” said Ben Camp, CEO, RehabPath. “Recovery.com is an inclusive, memorable and optimistic name that lends instant credibility and trust to these efforts. When we were presented with the opportunity to purchase this domain name, I knew it would be a multiplier on the work our team is doing and the investments we’ve already made.”
A continuum of care
While “rehab” or inpatient care is often necessary for people struggling with mental health and substance use disorders, it’s only one aspect of treatment in the life-long journey of recovery.
Because RehabPath – and now Recovery.com – helps people find an array of treatment options, it’s imperative they easily communicate the breadth and depth of services to anyone searching for care. That’s where Recovery.com comes into play.
“When people hear the word ‘rehab’ they tend to think of a residential stay for addiction treatment. But for a long time now we’ve helped people looking for all types of mental health treatment at various levels along the continuum of care, and our company’s mission involves helping people through every step of their recovery journey. So it had become clear we had outgrown the name RehabPath.”
Today, more than 3,400 centers from 50 countries offer more than 10,000 different programs on Recovery.com to help people with an array of mental health disorders, including depression, substance use disorders, eating disorders, trauma, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and countless others.
Growth in a time of need
Each month, more than 100,000 people use Recovery.com to connect directly with treatment providers who fit their needs, and those numbers show no sign of slowing down.
RehabPath has been able to help so many people, largely due to their commitment to doing things the right way. Along with being entirely independent from any treatment center and adhering to the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers’ code of marketing ethics, at its core, RehabPath puts the patient first.
This has allowed RehabPath to build a business model that creates value for both patients and treatment centers. While giving patients a comprehensive resource and listing all treatment options for free, RehabPath provides an advertising product for treatment centers to get additional reach on Recovery.com, and do it at a cost that is often much better than other advertising channels. This leads to centers needing to spend less money on paid marketing channels and more on high-quality care.
“Sometimes it’s hard to wrap my mind around the impact our platform is having on lives around the world. Recently, a treatment center that advertises with us let us know that they tracked over 92 admissions into their program in 2023 from our website,” Camp said. “That’s 92 lives and 92 families impacted by finding us online, just with a single provider.”
Each of those admissions represents a person who came to Recovery.com in a state where they needed help and didn’t know where to turn. Each of those people were able to navigate Recovery.com, compare dozens or even hundreds of options depending on their search criteria, and find the right option for themselves or their loved ones.
“As you can imagine, this is very motivating to our team, and drives our urgency to make our platform better and reach more people each day,” Camp said.
About RehabPath & Recovery.com
Founded in 2017, RehabPath helps people discover a path to recovery that’s right for them. RehabPath aims to provide unbiased, educational and helpful information about treatment for addiction and mental health. RehabPath helps more than 200,000 people every month from Madison to Mumbai find treatment centers tailored to their specific needs.
Funds will be used to grow the addiction and mental health treatment directory’s coverage and dataset to encompass all U.S. providers.
RehabPath leadership team meeting at our Madison, Wisconsin headquarters.
Madison, WI – The majority of people who need addiction treatment start their search online. But unfortunately, this process is far from straightforward due to the complexity of the decision and dire lack of helpful, independent resources available.
In addition, treatment seekers are vulnerable to the scams and deceptive marketing practices that run rampant in the rehab industry. This leaves high-quality, ethical addiction and mental health providers with scarce options to legitimately reach their target audience online.
That’s why RehabPath exists.
We know the first step in the recovery journey is a crucial one. We’re here to empower individuals and families by providing honest information about the treatment process. Our goal is to match people with treatment programs that really fit their needs. And by growing our business, we can increase our capacity to make that urgently needed impact.
We’re proud to announce that HealthX Ventures, a digital health-focused venture capital firm right here in Madison, has provided $3 million in funding to support us in this effort. HealthX Ventures invests in innovative companies that create cost-effective, user-friendly healthcare solutions. RehabPath joins cutting-edge companies like Redox, Medable, CancerIQ and DotCom Therapy as part of the HealthX portfolio.
Funds from this collaboration are being used to continue to build our comprehensive, nationwide resource of addiction and mental health treatment providers. As we redouble our efforts to increase treatment connections, we’re also building out our team. After 4 years of calling StartingBlock Madison home, our new headquarters on the Capitol Square at the top of State Street will open its doors in October.
HealthX Managing Partner Mark Bakken has been a great addition to our board. Mark applies his extensive experience in rapid business growth to supporting our leadership and operations, and recognizes mental health as an important growth area.
“RehabPath is fulfilling a real need in the market and doing it in a patient-first, ethical way. HealthX couldn’t be happier to be partnering with RehabPath’s passionate and talented team to help people around the world connect with high-quality mental health and addiction treatment providers.
The fact that this important work is happening just a few blocks away from us is also very exciting to me and a big win for the Madison ecosystem.”
RehabPath Co-Founders Jeremiah Calvino and Ben Camp
Since our founding in 2017, RehabPath has grown to a 35-person (and growing) team of compassionate, joyful, diverse, and ethically aligned colleagues who share a passion for increasing access to treatment.
We’re excited for this major milestone on our journey, and look forward to supporting more people on their path to recovery!
Nearly everyone’s life has been impacted by coronavirus. We thought we would help in a small way by gathering and sharing virtual resources that can help with your mental health.
We asked ourselves: what are some ways we can all fill our time in a helpful and healthy way? What things help us feel peace, joy, growth, and keep us connected? Look below for a few we found helpful!
Some organizations have made their resources available for cheaper or even free for everyone during this time, while others may still be full cost, and now is a great time to try them out.
Telehealth Counseling, Therapy, and Support Groups
Talkspace: Talkspace offers 24/7 counseling and therapy by a licensed therapist. You can answer a few questions to be matched with a good fit. (Plans vary $65–$100 per week)
AA Groups: Missing AA groups or want to attend your first one? Alcoholics Anonymous is offering free Zoom and call in options to attend virtual AA groups!
Webinars
Flexjobs: Offering 2 free webinars that focus on helpful tools while adjusting to working from home.
The Banyans: This 4-part series and workbook, designed for company leaders and their employees, give direction on how to encourage wellness when your team is dealing with stress and anxiety. (Packages range from 1–500+ members for $199–$999)
Meditation and Mindfulness Apps
Headspace: A guided meditation and mindfulness app, focusing on a daily rhythm for a few minutes a day. ($12.99/month or $9.99/year for students)
Hazelden Twenty-Four Hours a Day: Hazelden offers free inspiration daily, geared for people in recovery (12-Steps focus) but helpful for anyone—that’s 366 meditations, thoughts, and prayers this year! (Get the app at the Apple App Store or Google Play)
Calm: A meditation app available to “sleep more, stress less, live better.”
Helpful and Healthy Time Fillers
Metropolitan Opera: Offering live Broadway Shows and Theaters! Say what? Various free performances are available online.
Seattle Symphony: Who loves a good orchestra concert? Music festivals will be broadcasting live for no cost through Facebook and Youtube!
Class Central: Want to learn something new? Brush up that resume? Class Central is offering 450 free Ivy League courses.
Google Arts and Culture: Viewable art pieces from all over the world and each art piece has a description about it for no cost. How colorful!
Overdrive: Want to check out a virtual book from your local library? The Libby App is an easy download, giving access to check out a book by phone or other electronic devices. Librarians are also virtually available. All you need is a library card!
Remember, Let’s Stay Connected
House Party: This app gives an alert when your friends are on the app and are ready to chat via video.
Marco Polo: This mobile app allows you to stay connected by offering instant video messages (that save). All you need is the other person’s phone number to invite or find them on the app. You can also have groups. How fun is that?
Zoom: Zoom offers video conferencing for up to 100 people. First 40 minutes are free, but you can create a new meeting as a workaround.
Facebook Messenger: Facebook offers messaging and video chat among your other Facebook friends! There are plenty of ways to video chat with your loved ones.
Google Docs – Google offers a shareable document that can be shared with so many people! Might be fun to share documents with people to collaborate on recipes, projects, or creative stories.
FaceTime: If you have an iPhone, don’t forget about good ol’ facetime with another iPhone user!
RehabPath provides independent resources with no ties or affiliations with treatment companies or particular methods. We have one primary goal: to help families and individuals worldwide find hope and help from addiction. Learn more about us.
Shree Kalluri, founder of Forte Research Systems and Zerology, invests and joins the RehabPath board.
Madison, WI. –RehabPath is excited to announce that we have received a $200,000 strategic seed investment led by Shree Kalluri earlier this month.
Kalluri is a prominent healthcare technology leader, founding Forte Research Systems, which provides a suite of software solutions to cancer clinics nationwide. He led and grew the company for 20 years before selling it in September. By joining our board and taking an active investor role, Kalluri brings decades of experience and expertise in building and scaling a successful healthcare-related business to RehabPath.
The new investment will enable RehabPath to further capitalize on our position as a leader in key existing markets and more quickly scale our business globally to meet the demand from both patients and treatment providers for a comprehensive, trustworthy platform for patients and providers to connect.
Since our founding in 2017, RehabPath has been primarily bootstrapped. We’ve worked tirelessly to prove our business model, and could continue to grow and sustain our business based on our current revenues. However, we see a massive global problem and with outside investment we can more quickly scale to meet this need. So besides this investment, we have also opened a crowd-sourced seed round so that anyone who believes in what we’re doing can invest in RehabPath! All the details can be found at republic.co/rehabpath.
About RehabPath
RehabPath is an online platform that presents trusted, helpful resources to people in need of addiction and mental health treatment, while providing an effective and ethical advertising channel for treatment providers looking for cost-effective marketing solutions in a $35 billion industry. We have 5 sites globally, including India’s top treatment resource, and a collection of over 1,500 of the best providers worldwide.
Over the past few years, I’ve had the chance to visit a number (the current count is 19, I believe) of the luxury rehabs listed on our site.
I’ve enjoyed meeting the teams behind each one, but have come to particularly appreciate and recognize the unique benefit of family-owned and operated centers. Here are a few of the reasons that dynamic can be so special.
Financial Independence
There’s certainly nothing inherently wrong with institutional investors, but a key benefit communicated to me when visiting these centers is that without an institutional investor to answer to, family-owned rehabs find they are freer to make decisions that put client needs over profit when necessary.
Don Lavender (Programme Director) and his wife Meena (Family Therapist & EMDR Practitioner) run Camino Recovery in Malaga, Spain. Don and Meena spent many years working for institutional treatment centers in the US and UK, and Don was happy to share the benefits of operating a family-owned center.
Don (right) and Meena (front, 2nd from left) and their team at Camino Recovery.
“Meena and I wanted to do this on our own. Even though we’ve been approached a number of times, we haven’t gone with or worked with investors. Because when you have to pay more attention to the bottom line than paying attention to the welfare of the client, sometimes a good business decision can turn out to be a poor clinical decision.”
Jan Gerber, Managing Director of Paracelsus Recovery in Switzerland, who runs the company with his mom, the Clinical Coordinator, and dad, the Medical Director puts it this way, “I have a very strong belief that institutional money, institutional investments, and mental health don’t work together. Because when it comes to mental health treatment, be it addiction treatment, eating disorders, depression, or anything else, there is no objective decision. Does a person need more psychotherapy or less psychotherapy? More of that treatment or less of that treatment? It needs to be a clinical decision where the budget and financial side is completely cut off.”
Jan (center) and his mother Dr. Christine Merzeder (center right) meeting with their team.
Intimate Atmosphere
For the most part, family-run treatment centers tend to be smaller, more intimate environments. Of the four I mention in this post, Camino is the largest with a maximum of 8 clients, which is well below the norm for residential treatment centers.
Dr. David Nesenoff, of Tikvah Lake Recovery in Florida, provides an extremely personalized treatment experience with treatment taking place entirely in his home.
“Even though Tikvah Lake Recovery is a 15,000 square foot mansion on a 200-acre private lake, this is our home. My wife Nancy and I live here. There are no signs outside and if one were to poke their head in they would see a peaceful home with a few guests visiting. Our clients are considered guests in our home and they are treated as such. Discussions around our table can be anything from talking about the unbelievable food in front of us or about our day or just some fun stuff hosts and guests usually talk about around the family table. Our clinical director becomes part of the family as well as he often joins us around the lunch table and he and his staff are on-site working with our guests one-on-one every day.”
Dr. Nesenoff welcomes potential clients into his home in the short clip above.
David and his son Adam, who operate the center together, believe that the size of the facility (the program is limited to a maximum of 6 people) and the home-like atmosphere are key factors to their guests’ success.
Ameet Braich, Clinical Director of Camino Recovery (and the son of Meena Lavender) also sees great benefit in a more intimate setting. “We’ve all come from years in the field, working in larger institutions and have found that working in a clinical environment is detrimental to the therapeutic process. Having a small, intimate space where people can really get honest and open up about their issues, really works well in this setting.”
Addiction Is a Family Problem
My first exposure to a family-owned and operated treatment center was Duffy’s Napa Valley. From its founding in 1967 until it was acquired in 2015, Duffy’s operated as a family-run business, and frequently described themselves as “A family business for a family problem.” That slogan resonated with me, and I think its a key component to why family-owned centers are so special.
Addiction is a problem that affects the entire family and can also be a byproduct of problems within the family. So “it is natural for the solutions to these struggles and barriers to be learned within a family environment,” says Nesenoff.
Clients at a family-operated program get the chance to see family dynamics in action, which in itself can be helpful. Don says, “We’re imperfect just like every family. But when we mess up or make mistakes, we acknowledge it. And, in a way, it gives the clients the permission to learn.”
As a key part of their program, Camino invites the families of their clients to join them on site for a 5-day workshop, where according to Don, they teach them about the “disease concept and codependency” as well as a focus on enablement.
He doesn’t doubt that there is a connection between Camino’s family ownership and the effectiveness of their family program. “Camino is a family-owned and family-run business. … We pay attention to families seriously, not only our own family but the family systems of others. … Family is important. It is of value. And when people leave us, they return to family.”
A Dream Come True
“It’s a dream come true.” This is how Debby Berry, co-founder of Kembali Recovery described starting and running a treatment center with her son Clayton.
Clayton and Debby show us a nearby waterfall for our Bali Destinations episode.
As anyone who runs a family business knows, it has its challenges. But more often than not, the benefits are worth the effort, and felt not only throughout the organization but by the clients and their families in desperate need of help.
When considering treatment options, you should always investigate the quality of the program. Search our collection of rehabs and find key information such as licensing, accreditations, and pricing at a glance. Whenever possible, consult a trusted medical or mental health professional before a final decision is made.
Frequently Asked Questions About Family-Run Rehabs
What are the benefits of a family-run rehab?
Family-run rehabs may have more flexibility and tend to prioritize clinical care over profits. Most treat a few patients at a time in an intimate, home-like setting. This comfortable atmosphere helps patients open up in therapy.
What is the difference between a family-owned rehab and state-funded rehab?
The cost of treatment without insurance is a key difference between family-owned and state-funded rehabs. State-funded rehabs offer low- to no-cost treatment for uninsured people. However, it often takes longer to enter state programs compared to family-owned rehabs.
Do family-run rehabs have better family programs?
Family-run rehabs tend to pay special attention to their family program. Patients also get to see healthy family dynamics in action and can apply these to their own lives.
