Member-only story
Hungry Sharks: The Sobering Truth About the $39 Billion Addiction Rehab Industry
As a woman in recovery who leads a grassroots recovery organization and facilitates a recovery support group online with nearly 6,000 members, I’ve heard countless horror stories about the rehab industry.
One couple, in recovery themselves, spent over $70,000 on their son’s treatment, but much of it proved worthless.
Another individual I know personally endured the revolving door of more than 9 rehabs, often forced to attend groups he didn’t find helpful, and felt pressured to engage in trivial activities, like puzzling, finger painting, and ping-pong.
Other members have shared their horror stories with me of health insurance providers refusing to cover addiction care near their homes, and instead, they were sent to shoddy treatment facilities hundreds of miles away.
Where I live in Colusa County, a peer who attends our weekly support group for Justice-Involved individuals told me he relapsed just three days after leaving a 30-day rehab that runs ads that claim ‘evidence-based treatment’ and follow-up support. A rehab I might mention that our county’s local mental health provider sent him to. Am I surprised that he relapsed? Not one bit. There was no solid follow-up program or support in place for him when he got out.
