7 WARNING SIGNS OF UNETHICAL ADDICTION TREATMENT (EVERY FAMILY SHOULD KNOW)
Before choosing a rehab, read this. A mother and nurse practitioner shares 7 red flags from her daughter’s treatment experience that every family must watch for.
I’m not writing this to destroy anyone. I’m writing this because I know exactly what it feels like to be a mother holding her breath, hoping this time the system helps instead of harms.
When my daughter asked for help, I moved fast. We found detox. We found residential care. And then we were told she needed long-term treatment. I reached out to someone I followed on social media an interventionist. He connected us with a facility he trusted.
What followed was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life.
If you’re a family navigating addiction and trying to choose the “right” place to send your loved one, please read this first.
Red Flag #1: The “Blackout Period” Is Extended Without Explanation
We were told there would be a 30–45 day communication blackout so my daughter could focus on her recovery.
It turned into 90+ days. No phone calls. No letters. No winter clothes. No way to know how she was doing.
That’s not trauma-informed care. That’s control.
Red Flag #2: MAT Was Promised—Then Quietly Withheld
My daughter was on Suboxone. That was non-negotiable. The facility said they were MAT-friendly.
But she was taken off it.
Without my consent.
Without hers.
If your loved one’s life depends on medication-assisted treatment, get that in writing.
Red Flag #3: Therapists Use Shame Instead of Support
Every call with her therapist was doom-and-gloom. “She’s manipulating. She won’t surrender. She’s a flight risk. She’s noncompliant.”
Not once did I hear:
“She’s making progress.”
“She’s engaged.”
“She’s showing up.”
It was emotional warfare and it made me question everything I knew about my own daughter.
Red Flag #4: Families Are Pressured Into Therapy They Can’t Afford
I was told I needed to hire a “family recovery therapist” if I really wanted to help my daughter. I was already paying for my other daughter’s therapy, rehab, raising a grandson. I was in a low-paying fellowship. I had nothing left to give but guilt.
And that’s exactly what they were counting on.
Red Flag #5: Patients Who Leave Are Denied Their Phones
When my daughter left against medical advice, the facility refused to return her phone. A common practice in the addiction treatment industry.
She had no way to contact anyone. No way to reach me. No way to get help.
I filed a missing persons report. She was gone for days in a city she didn’t know. This practice is common—and it’s dangerous.
Adults are entitled to their own property. Full stop.
Red Flag #6: Unlicensed Individuals Are Given Access to Protected Information
The interventionist I had spoken to? He wasn’t hired. He wasn’t contracted. But the facility had my daughter sign a Release of Information (ROI) allowing him access to her private clinical information.
Then he used that information in public comment sections online, then made videos and even went live trying to defend the facility’s reputation when I spoke out.
He had no right. No license. No ethical boundary. Just a connection to a business he was trying to protect.
Red Flag #7: Misrepresented Credentials Are Treated as Legitimate
That same interventionist listed on his website that he was CAI-certified.
When I filed a complaint, I contacted the certifying body. They told me he hadn’t held that certification in over 10 years—yet he was still listing it on a brand-new website, using it to gain trust from vulnerable families.
Always verify certifications. If it’s expired, it’s not real.
What I Want Other Families to Know
Ask questions. The hard ones.
Don’t confuse slick branding or viral content with actual qualifications.
If someone makes you feel like you’re the problem, you probably aren’t.
You are not crazy for wanting answers.
You are not “codependent” for loving your child.
Enabling is a word that is weaponized in the treatment world to push families out so they have more control.
This post isn’t about shame. It’s about truth.
And if I have to risk upsetting people to protect even one family from going through what we did…I’ll take that risk every time.
Do what you can live with.
Even when the whole system tells you not to trust yourself.
—Brandi Mac
