Marketing for addiction and mental health treatment.
For detox, residential, PHP, IOP and mental health practices. Ads, search, video and admissions follow-up, from a founder who built and ran a behavioral health company.
Licensed programs nationwide, from Newport Beach, California.
- $5M+Ad spend managed
- 10Years our team has worked together
- $0Of our fee tied to admissions
- TwoBusiness exits
The two exits are Preston's own track record, not PELORA client results.
PELORA markets licensed addiction and mental health treatment: detox, residential, PHP, IOP and mental health practices. We run Google and Meta ads (LegitScript first for addiction care), plus search, video and admissions follow-up, with no lead selling and no fee tied to admissions.
Last updated . What we checked: Google Ads healthcare and addiction services policies, LegitScript's addiction treatment certification page, 42 CFR Part 2, 18 U.S.C. 220, 15 U.S.C. 45d, SAMHSA's 2025 national survey report and its National Helpline page, all read October 20, 2026. Meta's policies are quoted from our readings of September 23 and 27, 2026.
Looking for treatment for yourself or someone you love? This page is for treatment providers. SAMHSA's National Helpline is free, confidential and open 24/7 at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
What does PELORA do for treatment programs?
We build the marketing a licensed program needs to be found and chosen: ads built to the platform rules, search and AI visibility, video of your real team, and admissions systems that answer fast. Whether you treat substance use decides which ad rules apply; the level of care decides where the work starts.
| Program | What we build | The rule | Read next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detox | Google and Meta ads once the certifications are in place; call tracking; admissions follow-up | LegitScript, Google's certification and Meta's written permission before ads; 42 CFR Part 2 if it covers you. | Rehab marketing |
| Residential | Video of the real facility and team; Google and Meta ads; a page for each level of care | Treatment center video | |
| PHP and IOP | Local search and a Business Profile for each licensed site; level-of-care, insurance and location pages; search ads | How to market a treatment center | |
| Mental health practices | Therapist, psychiatry and group practice pages; search; Meta ads that describe the care, not the viewer | Meta's personal attributes rule; Google's addiction services policy does not apply if you treat no substance use. | Mental health marketing |
Every program gets the same base: a site that answers the questions patients and families ask, in plain words; tracking set up with your counsel to keep health details out of ad platforms; and a CRM that follows up. We ask your counsel about a business associate agreement before any tracking or CRM work starts.
How admissions tracking works
Health questions are asked by your admissions team on the phone, never in an ad platform's lead form. Every month you see calls, booked assessments, cost per booked assessment and the admissions total you share with us, from your own count, never patient-level data.
A fit
- Licensed addiction treatment programs, from detox to outpatient
- Therapy, psychiatry and group practices
- Programs ready to apply for LegitScript, or already certified
Not a fit
- Lead generators and call centers that refer patients for pay
- Sober living homes without licensed clinical services that want to advertise treatment
- Anyone who needs us to promise outcomes or census numbers
Who is behind PELORA's treatment work?
Preston Durnford, PELORA's founder and CEO, comes from the operator side of behavioral health. That history is why our behavioral health work is operator-informed rather than theoretical.
Knowing the operator side also means knowing where marketing stops. Clinical decisions, licensing and legal calls stay with your team and your counsel.
What rules apply to treatment center marketing?
Six published rules shape how treatment programs can market, and each one is quoted here from its source. Each card links to the page where we go deeper.
LegitScript certification
LegitScript calls its addiction treatment certification the only certification and monitoring solution recognized by Google, Meta, Microsoft and Nextdoor to vet addiction treatment advertisers.
Marketers referring patients to other providers in exchange for compensation
do not qualify.
What this means for youAddiction treatment ads on Google or Meta require LegitScript certification first, and a marketer paid to refer patients cannot hold it.
LegitScript, Addiction Treatment Certification, read October 20, 2026.
Google Ads
For the United States: In order to advertise for recovery-oriented drug and alcohol addiction services, you must be certified as an addiction services provider by the LegitScript Certification program.
Then: Advertisers must also be certified with Google.
What this means for youNo Google ads for recovery-oriented drug and alcohol addiction services in the United States until both certifications are in place.
Google Ads Help, Healthcare and medicines policy, read October 20, 2026.
Meta
Advertisers can run ads for drug and alcohol addiction treatment in the United States as long as they're certified with LegitScript and have written permission from Meta.
Meta's personal attributes rule, which covers every ad, says ads must not contain content that asserts or implies personal attributes
, which include physical or mental health (including medical conditions)
.
What this means for youAddiction treatment ads on Meta need LegitScript and Meta's written permission, and no ad may suggest the viewer has a condition.
Meta Transparency Center, addiction treatment policy read September 23, 2026; personal attributes policy read September 27, 2026.
42 CFR Part 2
For federally assisted substance use disorder programs, a patient's presence at a facility publicly identified as providing only that care may be acknowledged only if the patient's written consent is obtained
or a court order allows it. The rule counts a photograph
as patient identifying information.
What this means for youIf the rule covers your program, do not confirm that anyone is a patient, in a photo or anywhere else, without that patient's written consent or a court order.
42 CFR 2.11 and 2.13, Code of Federal Regulations, 2025 edition on govinfo.gov, read October 20, 2026.
EKRA, 18 U.S.C. 220
For services covered by a health care benefit program, it is a federal crime to knowingly and willfully pay or offer any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe, or rebate)
to induce a referral to a recovery home, clinical treatment facility, or laboratory
. Violators shall be fined not more than $200,000, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both, for each occurrence.
What this means for youIf a health care benefit program covers your services, it is a federal crime to knowingly and willfully pay or offer anything to induce a referral to your program. Our fee is never paid per lead, call or admission.
18 U.S.C. 220, United States Code, 2023 edition on govinfo.gov, read October 20, 2026.
Honest claims, 15 U.S.C. 45d
It is unlawful to engage in an unfair or deceptive act or practice with respect to any substance use disorder treatment service or substance use disorder treatment product.
What this means for youNo unfair or deceptive act or practice in marketing a substance use disorder treatment service or product, by us or by you.
15 U.S.C. 45d (Opioid Addiction Recovery Fraud Prevention Act of 2018), govinfo.gov, read October 20, 2026.
Mental health practices that do not treat substance use
Google's addiction services policy covers recovery-oriented drug and alcohol addiction services, and Google says Promotion of services unrelated to drug and alcohol addiction, like services for impulse control disorders, behavioral addiction, or nicotine addiction, are out of scope of this policy.
(Google Ads Help, Addiction services, read October 20, 2026.) Meta's personal attributes rule still applies to every ad. (Meta Transparency Center, Privacy Violations and Personal Attributes, our dated copy read September 27, 2026.)
What this means for youGoogle's addiction services policy, with its LegitScript requirement, does not cover a practice that treats no drug or alcohol addiction. Google's other healthcare and medicines rules and Meta's personal attributes rule still apply.
This is a plain-English summary of published rules, not legal advice. We build to these rules and flag questions early; your counsel and compliance lead make the legal calls, and we do not certify compliance.
How many people with a substance use disorder get treatment?
Few do. In 2025, 89.0 percent of the 44.6 million people aged 12 or older with a substance use disorder received no substance use treatment, according to SAMHSA's national survey.
Each square is 1 percent of the 44.6 million people aged 12 or older with a substance use disorder.
See the numbers as a table
| People aged 12+ with a substance use disorder, 2025 | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Received substance use treatment | 4.9 million | 11.0% |
| Did not receive substance use treatment | 39.7 million | 89.0% |
| Total with a substance use disorder | 44.6 million | 100% |
Most of them are not looking for help. Of the 38.1 million adults with a substance use disorder who did not receive treatment in 2025, 94.5 percent did not think they needed it. For mental health the picture differs: 50.9 percent of the 54.6 million adults with any mental illness received some mental health treatment.
For a treatment program, that means many of the people it could help are not searching today, which is why plain, honest education belongs in the plan next to ads. Our own SAMHSA locator study looks at whether licensed programs can be found in the federal treatment locator.
Where should a treatment program start?
Start with the service that matches your program, then read the rules before any ad runs. Our guides for treatment programs are grouped below by what you need first.
Services
The rules
Guides and research
Treatment center value
Treatment program questions, answered.
Can a treatment center advertise on Google and Meta without LegitScript?
Google and Meta require LegitScript for addiction treatment ads; organic search has no such certification step, so SEO work can start while you apply.
Do you work with mental health practices, or only addiction treatment?
Both. Therapy, psychiatry and group practices are part of the work alongside addiction treatment programs. Mental health ads follow their own rules: on Meta, the personal attributes rule means an ad describes the care and never implies the viewer has a condition.
Do you sell leads or charge per admission?
No. Our fee does not change with calls, referrals or admissions, and we never buy or sell patient leads. Federal law, 18 U.S.C. 220, makes it a crime to knowingly and willfully pay for referrals to recovery homes, clinical treatment facilities or laboratories when the services are covered by a health care benefit program, and LegitScript does not certify marketers that refer patients for compensation.
Will PELORA guarantee that our marketing is compliant?
No. We build to the published rules on this page and flag questions early, but your counsel and compliance lead make the legal calls. Tracking, CRM and admissions work can touch patient data, so we ask your counsel about a business associate agreement before that work starts.
Can we use patient or alumni stories in our marketing?
Only with written consent that your counsel has approved, and only for the channels and time it covers. Under 42 CFR Part 2, a federally assisted program publicly identified as providing only substance use disorder care may acknowledge that someone is a patient only with that patient's written consent or a court order, so alumni videos, testimonials and replies to reviews all need care.
Do you only work with programs in California?
No. PELORA is based in Newport Beach, California, and works with licensed programs nationwide. Ads, search and admissions systems are built remotely, and video is filmed on location at your program.
Tell us about your program. We bring the rulebook.
Bring your levels of care, your LegitScript status and where admissions come from today. On the call you get a straight answer on fit and the first three things we would fix, whether or not we work together.