American Addiction Centers’ Editorial Policy & Content Guidelines
Our Mission
American Addiction Centers (AAC) is committed to delivering original, truthful, accurate, unbiased, and medically current information. We strive to create content that is clear, concise, and easy to understand and that demonstrates the following:
- Evidence-based information. Content is based on current clinical evidence that supports the standard of care.
- Clinically significant data. Many clinical articles are medically reviewed to ensure they correctly interpret the evidence and align with the standard of care.
- Relevant subject matter. Articles reflect up-to-date, relevant information about substance use, co-occurring mental health disorders, the latest developments in addiction medicine, the impact of substance misuse or addiction on family and community, and objective information to help individuals better understand the disease of addiction and allow them to make informed decisions about their health or the health of a loved one.
While we make every effort to create honest, accurate content, the content we provide is never intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Our Policy
AAC does not accept any advertising or sponsorship dollars of any kind. It is important to us that our pages remain true to current best practices without the influence of sponsorship or advertising.
Our Sources
During the editorial and medical review process, our team fact checks information and ensures that only reputable, credible, and current sources get used.
Reputable sources utilized by AAC include:
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA).
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5 (5th) from the American Psychiatric Association.
- The Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Control Division.
- American Society of Addiction Medicine.
Our Style
Stigmatizing language and terms are generally avoided in the articles we publish. AAC acknowledges evidence suggesting that stigmatizing language can lead others to feel pity, fear, anger, and a desire to stay away from individuals with substance use disorders; perpetuate the view that addiction is a moral failing (and not a medical disease); and negatively impact treatment retention.
Inclusive, neutral, and bias-free language is what we strive to use throughout our pages. AAC understands that addiction affects all gender identities and sexual orientations. Thus, we aim to educate people on the topic of addiction through respect, awareness, and inclusivity.
Thought leadership that remains at the forefront of addiction treatment standards and best practices means that many of our pages include the voice of our medical practitioners at the facility level.
Our Facility Standards
Our mission is to provide quality, compassionate, and innovative care to adults struggling with addiction and co-occurring mental health disorders. Through comprehensive and customized treatment plans, we instill hope that long-term recovery is possible. Our purpose and passion is to empower you, your family, and your community by helping you achieve recovery and optimal wellness of the mind, body, and spirit.
Our Staff and Contributors
Industry experts: Our editors and medical reviewers are AAC staff and industry experts. We employ senior level editors who have experience handling health-related topics. Our credentialed medical and clinical editors are addiction experts who review content, checking that the information presented is accurate and current and uses credible sources for statistics and medical information. Look for the medically reviewed badge on articles for information that has been thoroughly reviewed and fact-checked by one of our credentialed medical or clinical editors:
Freelance writers: AAC’s network of freelance writers are experienced in writing about behavioral healthcare. Many are licensed counselors, social workers, and other healthcare professionals.
We do not accept submissions from bloggers, marketers, brands, or other commercially motivated content producers. We want to provide objective, up-to-date facts about addiction so that readers can make informed decisions for themselves or loved ones.
We make every attempt to update our content with the most recent information. However, we also acknowledge that healthcare information changes rapidly. To report an error, please contact content@contactaac.com.
Humans Not Robots
All our articles are written by real people. While artificial intelligence may be a valuable tool for some industries, we strongly feel that humans should be the ones writing about the complicated and nuanced topics covered on our websites.
Addiction is a personal, devastating, and highly stigmatized issue, and writing about it requires the compassion and empathy that only humans can provide. In addition, it requires the ability to discern between quality, peer-reviewed sources and those that may be incomplete or contain inaccuracies, myths, and misinformation.