Editorial Standards and Medical Review Process

The Archangel Centers publishes clinical and educational content about addiction, mental health, and recovery for people making decisions about their own care or a loved one's. We treat that responsibility seriously. This page describes how our content is researched, written, reviewed, updated, and corrected, and who is accountable at each step.

Editorial principles

Every page we publish is built on four standards:

1. Accuracy first. Clinical claims are sourced to primary references (federal agencies, peer-reviewed journals, professional societies). When the evidence is mixed, we say so. When we don't know, we say that too. 2. Person-first language. We write about people, not labels. "A person in recovery from alcohol use disorder," not "an alcoholic." Language shapes how readers see themselves and what they ask for. 3. No stigmatizing language. We avoid moralizing terms ("clean," "dirty," "abuser") and frame addiction as a medical condition, consistent with how the American Medical Association and American Society of Addiction Medicine define it. 4. Useful, not promotional. Pages exist to help readers make informed decisions, not to push them toward our services. Commercial calls to action are clearly separated from educational content.

Sourcing standards

Clinical claims on this site are drawn from sources in roughly this hierarchy:

Sources are cited inline where relevant and listed at the end of each page in a Sources section. We do not cite anonymous blog posts, content farms, or our own marketing materials as evidence.

• Federal health agencies. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
• Professional clinical societies. American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), American Psychiatric Association (APA), American Medical Association (AMA), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).
• Peer-reviewed journals. New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Lancet Psychiatry, Addiction, Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, and equivalent.
• State agencies and state law. New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and the specific statutes referenced on procedural pages.

Medical review

Every clinical page on this site is reviewed by a credentialed clinician before publication, and is reviewed again on a published cadence. Reviewers check that:

Reviewer credentials are listed on each clinician's page in the team directory and surface in the page schema (`reviewedBy`) along with the date of last review (`lastReviewed`).

Note while we build: While our clinical reviewer credentials and team pages are being finalized, some educational pages currently show only the editorial-team byline. These pages are prepared by The Archangel Centers editorial team for factual consistency with our internal clinical documentation, but have not yet completed independent clinical reviewer attestation. Each page will be stamped with the credentialed reviewer's name and date once that review is complete.

• Diagnostic descriptions match current DSM-5 / DSM-5-TR criteria
• Withdrawal, overdose, and medication content matches current SAMHSA, ASAM, and FDA guidance
• Levels of care are described accurately and in line with how The Archangel Centers actually delivers them
• Statements about insurance, legal processes, or state programs match current public sources
• Person-first language is used throughout

Update cadence

We re-review clinical content on the following schedule:

The "Last Updated" line at the top of each article reflects the most recent review.

• High-change-rate pages (medication options, insurance, treatment laws, state programs): every 6 months, or sooner if a federal advisory or state policy change makes it necessary
• Stable clinical pages (diagnostic criteria, treatment modalities, level-of-care definitions): every 12 months
• Brand and operational pages (location, hours, team): whenever the underlying fact changes

Corrections policy

If you find an error on this site, including a factual error, a misattributed statistic, an outdated medication option, or a stigmatizing phrase that slipped through, we want to know. Email [email protected] with the page URL and a short description of the issue. We aim to respond to corrections requests within five business days.

Corrected content carries an updated "Last Updated" date and, where the correction is material, a brief note in the page describing what changed and when.

Authors and contributors

Content is authored by the Archangel editorial team, in collaboration with our clinical leadership and reviewers. Author bylines on each page identify the writer, the medical reviewer, and the last-reviewed date. Authors do not publish under pseudonyms, and we do not use AI-generated content as a substitute for human authorship and clinical review.

Contact

For editorial questions, corrections, or media inquiries, email [email protected]. For clinical questions or admissions, call (888) 464-2144 or use the verify-insurance form.