Our Editorial Policy
People come to our website at difficult moments in their lives. Some are deciding whether to seek treatment for themselves. Some are frightened for someone they love. Many are making decisions with real consequences for their health, their families and their finances, and they are making them on the basis of what they read.
That places an obligation on us. Everything we publish about addiction, mental health and treatment is written and reviewed with the understanding that someone may act on it. This policy sets out how our content is created, who writes and checks it, where our information comes from, and what we do when we get something wrong.
Who we are
The Dawn Wellness Centre and Rehab is a residential addiction and mental health treatment centre in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We have been treating clients since 2017, and we are the only treatment centre in Asia-Pacific accredited by CARF International, the independent standard held by the most respected treatment centres in the United States. We are licensed by the Thai Ministry of Public Health and audited annually against CARF standards.
Who writes our content
Our content is written by our in-house content team, working directly with the clinicians who deliver treatment at our centre. Writers are briefed by clinical staff, and no article about a condition, therapy or treatment approach is published without a clinician having shaped or checked what it says.
Every article carries a named author. Where an article draws on the expertise of a member of our clinical team, that person is named, and their qualifications and professional registrations are listed on their author page so that readers can judge for themselves who is speaking to them.
Who reviews our content
Content covering clinical subjects is reviewed before publication by a qualified member of our team. Reviewers check that descriptions of conditions, therapies, medications and treatment processes are accurate, current and appropriate for a general reader who may be in distress.
Our clinical review is led by:
| Reviewer | Role and credentials |
| Helen Wells | Clinical Director. Certified Trauma Professional and member of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA). |
| Dr Panu Khuwuthyakorn | Medical reviewer. Board-certified psychiatrist and Director of Nakhon Sawan Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital. |
| Don Paolo Veneracion | Psychotherapist. CRC, ICAP I and CSAT III. |
Articles that have been medically reviewed carry the reviewer’s name and the date of review. Where an article has not been clinically reviewed, because it addresses a practical rather than a clinical subject, we do not imply that it has.
Where our information comes from
When we make a factual claim about addiction, mental health or treatment, it comes from one of three places, and we prefer them in this order.
Peer-reviewed research and recognised health authorities, such as the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the World Health Organization, the National Health Service and equivalent national bodies. Where we cite research or guidance, we link to the original source so that readers can read it themselves rather than take our word for it.
The clinical experience of our own team, drawn from treating clients at our centre. Where a claim rests on our clinicians’ experience rather than published research, we say so plainly rather than dressing it as established fact.
Our own treatment outcome data, described below.
We do not cite other treatment providers’ marketing material as evidence, and we do not repeat statistics we cannot trace to a source. If we cannot verify a figure, we do not publish it.
How we handle outcome data and treatment claims
We measure our clients’ progress using clinically validated tools, the Beck Depression Inventory and the GAD-7 anxiety scale, administered at intake and again at discharge. Where we publish figures drawn from this data, they are our own measured results and we identify them as such.
We do not promise outcomes. Recovery from addiction and mental health conditions is not something any treatment centre can promise, and we do not use language suggesting otherwise. Where we describe what treatment can achieve, we describe it honestly, including its limits.
We do not publish exact treatment prices on our website, because the appropriate programme and length of stay differ from person to person and a headline figure would mislead. We describe our cost relative to comparable centres in the West, and we direct anyone asking about price to speak with our admissions team, who will give them a straight answer for their situation.
The language we use
The words used about addiction and mental illness shape how people are treated, including how they treat themselves. Research consistently finds that stigmatising language reduces the likelihood that someone will seek help, so our language is a clinical decision rather than a stylistic one.
We write about people first and conditions second. We refer to the people we treat as clients, never as patients. We describe someone as a person suffering with addiction rather than as an addict. We say that someone is recovering or in recovery, not that they are recovered, because recovery is a continuing process rather than a finished state. We describe treatment plainly, without language that romanticises it or presents it as an escape.
Client privacy and personal stories
The people we treat trust us with the most private parts of their lives. We never publish a client’s name, image, story or any identifying detail without their explicit, informed and freely given consent, and consent can be withdrawn at any time. Where we publish recovery stories or testimonials, they are real accounts from real people who have agreed to share them. We do not invent client stories or testimonials, and we do not present composite or illustrative accounts as though they were real.
How we use AI
We use AI tools to assist with research, drafting and editing, in the same way we use other software. We do not publish AI-generated content unreviewed. Every article is written or substantially edited by a named human author, checked against sources, and, where clinical, reviewed by a qualified member of our team before publication. Responsibility for what we publish rests with us.
How often we review our content
Health information ages. Guidance changes, evidence develops, and what was accurate three years ago may mislead today. We review our clinical content on a scheduled basis and update it when the evidence, our programmes or our clinical practice change. Where an article has been reviewed or updated, we show the date, so that readers know how current the information they are reading is.
Corrections
We get things wrong sometimes, and when we do we want to know. If you find an error on our website, please tell us at [editorial email], and we will check it against our sources and our clinical team.
Where we find that we have published something inaccurate, we correct it. Where the error was significant, that is, where it could reasonably have affected someone’s understanding of a condition, a treatment or a decision about their care, we note the correction on the page rather than quietly changing the text.
Editorial independence
The Dawn is a treatment centre, and our website exists in part to explain what we offer. We are not a neutral publisher, and we do not pretend to be. What we do commit to is this: our clinical content is written to be accurate first and persuasive second. Our clinical reviewers have the authority to change or remove any claim they consider inaccurate, misleading or unsupported, and that decision is not overridden for commercial reasons.
Where an article recommends that a reader consider treatment, it will say so openly. We do not disguise promotional content as neutral advice.
What this content is not
Nothing on this website is a substitute for individual medical advice. Our articles are written to inform and to help people understand their options, not to diagnose a condition or to direct anyone’s treatment. If you are worried about your own health or someone else’s, speak with a qualified professional. If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services.
Contact us
If you have a question about our content, our sources or this policy, or if you would like to speak with someone about treatment, you can reach our to us.