We write for the person holding the question.

Who we are

Redwood Wellness is a small editorial team with a narrow mission: to write about addiction treatment honestly, in language that does not require you to already know what an IOP is, and to back every substantive claim to a source you can audit. We are not a treatment provider. We do not own a facility. We do not refer people to specific centers in exchange for payment. When we say "this is the current standard of care" we cite the research; when we say "this is contested" we say what the contest is about.

We try to avoid two failure modes that are common in this space. The first is the breathless, marketing-adjacent tone — "Take the first step on your journey!" — that treats addiction like a narrative arc and readers like prospects. The second is the flat clinical tone that recites DSM criteria without acknowledging that the person reading is often scared and short on time. We aim for something in between: warm, specific, honest, unhurried, and willing to say "we do not know."

What we publish

Three things, mostly.

A directory of treatment centers. 21,500+ licensed facilities, sourced quarterly from the federal SAMHSA Treatment Services Locator — the same database that state regulators use. We show what SAMHSA shows. We do not rank, and centers cannot pay for higher placement; our directory is algorithmic and transparent.

Guides for patients and families. Longer-form pieces on what to expect in treatment, how to have difficult conversations, how to read an insurance denial. Written for the reader who has no prior exposure and does not want to be patronized.

Insurance and cost information. What each major insurer actually covers, how the 2024 federal parity rule changed the landscape, and how to appeal a denial. This is the part of treatment that nobody warns families about, and it is usually the part that breaks them.

What we do not do

We do not give medical advice. The decision about whether you or a loved one needs residential treatment, outpatient therapy, or medication-assisted treatment is a clinical decision that depends on a full history and a qualified evaluator. Our role is to give you enough context to have that conversation more productively — not to have it for you.

We do not promise outcomes. Recovery is a chronic, relapsing process for most people. The best-funded, most evidence-based programs reduce the risk of relapse; they do not eliminate it. Any site that promises a specific success rate is either selling something or misrepresenting the evidence. We will not do either.

We do not take payment for editorial placement. If we recommend an approach or describe a treatment modality positively, it is because the evidence supports it, not because someone paid us. We do operate affiliate relationships with admissions networks — disclosed below — but those relationships affect helpline routing, not the directory or editorial content.

How we source what we publish

The directory is pulled from the SAMHSA Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator. When a facility's license is suspended or it closes, it is removed from our directory within 30 days of the federal update.

Editorial guides cite primary sources: SAMHSA Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPs), NIDA Research Reports, CDC surveillance data, DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria, ASAM Criteria for levels of care, CMS parity-rule filings, and peer-reviewed journals. Every guide ends with a sources block you can verify.

Insurance information comes from publicly available Summary Plan Description documents, state insurance department filings, and the CMS parity-compliance database. Because plans change year to year, we recommend verifying specific benefits with your insurer before making decisions with financial consequences.

Who writes this

Redwood Wellness is edited by a small team with backgrounds in healthcare journalism and behavioral-health policy research. We do not publish fictional author bios, and we do not attach fake clinical credentials to articles to inflate authority. When a named clinician contributes — which is not often — their real credentials and a verifiable bio appear alongside the byline.

If you find an error, a claim you cannot verify, or a facility listing that is out of date, email us at [email protected]. We respond within two business days, correct factual errors within five, and log material corrections with a visible notice at the foot of the article.

How to use the helpline

The phone number on this site connects you to licensed admissions staff at treatment-network partners. They answer 24/7, are subject to 42 CFR Part 2 confidentiality rules (the federal privacy framework for addiction records), and can verify your insurance benefits while you are on the line. We disclose the partner relationship in our editorial policy; it is a helpline, not a marketing funnel.

If you prefer to search without calling, the SAMHSA helpline (1-800-662-HELP) is an alternative federal service, also free and confidential, operated by the government rather than a private partner.

If you are in crisis

Call 911 for a medical or psychiatric emergency. Call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. For 24/7 substance-use referrals, call the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP. None of those services are run by us; we are pointing you to the fastest path to help.

Redwood Wellness is operated by a small editorial team. Funding comes from affiliate relationships with licensed treatment-center networks, which do not influence directory ranking or editorial content. Last updated April 2026. See our editorial policy.