Maintained by our editorial team · Last updated 2026

Why Write for The Treatment Specialist

The Treatment Specialist is a national resource for people researching addiction and mental health treatment. Our readers are clinicians referring out, families looking for help for a loved one, and individuals in active recovery decisions. Writing for us means reaching the people your work is designed to serve — at the moment they’re making real treatment choices.

Accepted contributors receive a credentialed byline, an author bio with one do-follow link to their site or practice, and promotion through our newsletter and social channels.

Who We’re Looking For

We accept submissions from a range of authors who bring useful expertise or perspective to addiction and mental health topics:

• Licensed clinicians (LADC, LCSW, LMFT, LPC, LMHC, MD, DO, PhD, PsyD, NP, PA)
• Treatment center clinical directors, program directors, and admissions professionals
• Recovery advocates, peer support specialists, and certified recovery coaches
• People with lived experience — recovery, family caregiver, loved one of someone in treatment
• Researchers, academics, and clinical fellows in addiction medicine, psychiatry, or behavioral health
• Mental health journalists, attorneys, and policy analysts working in the field

Topics We Publish

If your pitch fits one of these areas, we want to hear from you:

• Addiction (alcohol, opioids, stimulants, polysubstance, behavioral)
• Mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, bipolar, PTSD, OCD, schizophrenia, eating disorders, personality disorders)
• Treatment modalities (CBT, DBT, EMDR, MAT, ketamine therapy, group therapy, holistic approaches)
• Levels of care (detox, inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP, outpatient, sober living)
• Family support, codependency, boundaries, and intervention
• Recovery experience and case studies
• Insurance, treatment financing, and policy commentary
• Adolescent and young adult mental health
• Veterans, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and other community-specific mental health
• Workplace mental health, employee assistance programs, and corporate behavioral health
• Telehealth, digital therapeutics, and treatment technology
• Harm reduction, naloxone access, and overdose prevention

Editorial Standards

To maintain reader trust and clinical accuracy, every piece we publish needs to meet these standards:

• Original content only. The piece cannot have been published elsewhere — including on your own site, LinkedIn, Medium, or other guest-post outlets.
• Citations required. Any clinical, statistical, or factual claim needs a citation to a peer-reviewed source, government health agency (SAMHSA, NIH, CDC), or recognized clinical body (APA, ASAM).
• No AI-only content. We use AI detection on every submission. AI may assist research and structure, but pieces written entirely by AI will be rejected.
• Medically accurate. Articles making clinical or treatment claims are reviewed by our medical advisor before publication.
• Plain language, person-first. We write for people in distress — not other clinicians. “Person with a substance use disorder,” not “addict.” Avoid jargon when possible.
• No stigma. Compassionate framing throughout. Recovery is a process, not a moral failing.

Submission Guidelines

Pieces we accept share these traits:

• Word count: 1,200–2,500 words. Most pieces land around 1,500–1,800.
• Structure: Clear H2 sections, intro that states what the reader will learn, “Key Takeaways” near the top, conclusion with next steps.
• Headlines: Sentence case, descriptive, not clickbait. Aim for 50–65 characters.
• Images: One featured image required. Up to three supporting images. Royalty-free (Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay) or your own original work. No stock photos of staged “addict” or “depression” scenes.
• Internal linking: Include 2–3 relevant internal links to existing pages on The Treatment Specialist (we’ll help you identify good targets).
• Outbound citations: Link to primary sources where possible. We honor your academic and clinical references.
• Style: AP style. Contractions OK. Active voice. Short paragraphs (3–5 sentences).

What We Won’t Publish

We turn down pitches that:

• Are promotional content disguised as editorial (selling a product, service, or specific treatment center)
• Exist primarily to place backlinks — the SEO-driven guest-post style
• Are written entirely by AI
• Cover topics outside addiction and mental health (we’re not a general wellness or fitness publication)
• Have been published elsewhere or pitched simultaneously to other outlets
• Make cure claims, push supplements, or promote MLM-style “recovery” programs
• Disparage specific brands, treatment centers, or clinicians by name
• Cover crisis or self-harm topics without proper safety resources and disclaimers
• Recommend unproven, unregulated, or harmful interventions

How to Submit

The process is straightforward:

1. Pitch first. Use the form below to send a 200-word pitch describing your angle, your credentials or relevant experience, and the target audience.
2. We respond in 2–3 business days. We’ll tell you if it’s a fit, suggest adjustments, or pass with a brief reason.
3. If accepted, you have two weeks to deliver the full draft. We’ll send you a writer’s brief with target word count, internal linking suggestions, and any clinical review notes.
4. Editorial review. We may request 1–2 rounds of revisions for accuracy, structure, or readability.
5. Publication. We schedule the piece, build the page, set up your author bio with do-follow link, and notify you when it goes live.

Editorial Process & Timeline

• Pitch review: 2–3 business days
• Full draft review (after acceptance): 5–7 business days
• Revisions: 1–2 rounds is typical
• Publication: usually 2–4 weeks from accepted pitch
• Promotion: published pieces are featured in our newsletter and shared across social channels

Submit Your Pitch

Send us a 200-word pitch describing the angle, your credentials, and target audience. We’ll respond within 2–3 business days.

Your name *

Email *

Credentials or title *

Proposed topic *

Pitch (about 200 words) *

Portfolio URL or LinkedIn (optional)

How did you hear about us? (optional)
— Select —Google searchSocial mediaIndustry contactNewsletterOther

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Your information is private and is used only for editorial review.
We never share contributor pitches with third parties.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you pay guest contributors?

No. The Treatment Specialist is an unpaid guest-blogging program. The value to contributors is audience reach (people actively researching treatment), a credentialed byline, and one do-follow link in your author bio. If your goal is paid placement, we’re not the right fit.

Do you allow do-follow links?

Yes. Accepted authors receive one do-follow link in their author bio — to your practice, your firm’s site, or your personal site. We do not allow do-follow links inside the body of the article. In-body links to primary clinical sources and citations are encouraged but rendered no-follow or marked as references.

Can I republish my piece on my own site after publication?

We ask for a 60-day exclusivity window. After 60 days you may republish on your own site, but only with a canonical reference back to the original article on The Treatment Specialist (so search engines don’t treat the republication as duplicate content).

What happens if you reject my pitch?

We’ll let you know within 2–3 business days, usually with a brief reason — off-topic, already covered recently, doesn’t meet our editorial standards, or angle isn’t a fit. A rejection isn’t permanent. We welcome a different pitch from the same author. If your first pitch was promotional or backlink-driven, please re-read the “What we won’t publish” section before re-pitching.

Do you accept first-person recovery stories?

Yes — first-person recovery stories are some of our most valuable content. We have a separate intake process for these. Visit our Share Your Recovery Story page.

How is medical and clinical content reviewed?

Articles making clinical, treatment, or pharmacological claims are reviewed by our medical advisor, Jonathan Beazley, LADC MA, before publication. If your piece needs clinical review we’ll let you know during editorial — this may extend the publication timeline by a few business days but ensures everything we publish is accurate.