Learn / Reshaping an Industry: Quality Care and Advocacy as Tools for Recovery
Reshaping an Industry: Quality Care and Advocacy as Tools for Recovery
September 9th, 2024| Clinically Reviewed by
Key Points
- Our podcast episode this week featured Marvin Ventrell, CEO of the NAATP.
- We learned more about his recovery story and experiences with treatment.
- Marvin and the NAATP continue to improve and shape the treatment industry.
We were honored to have Marvin Ventrell, CEO of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) on our podcast this week. All three of our hosts gathered to lead an insightful, fun conversation on the treatment space and Marvin’s ideas for improvement.
Listen to Marvin Ventrell’s episode to learn more about the improvements the NAATP has made in addiction treatment, how they plan to make a broader impact, and how Marvin’s career as an attorney and man in recovery led him to their leadership.
Beginnings of an Impactful Career
Marvin began his career in his early twenties as an attorney. Marvin has also worked as a teacher, director, and CEO of a previous organization. He spent 15 years working in the child and family welfare system, authoring influential books and building the practice of law for children, which became recognized as a specialization by the American Bar Association (ABA).
Marvin recognized the need for the addiction treatment industry to have the same structure and ethical guidelines as children’s law. At the NAATP, Marvin immediately strived to expose the “bad stuff” in the industry as the first step to improvement, saying,
“So we’re going to look in at our, we’re going to clean up our own house. And we’re going to create an ethics code. And if you can’t follow it and you don’t fit it, you’re out.”
This met immediate critique and pushback, but Marvin and the NAATP persisted. Much of Marvin’s passion for improving the treatment space and broadening people’s ability to access quality, ethical treatment comes from his own recovery story.
A Personal Passion for Ethical Treatment
“I’m working in this field largely because I am a person in long term-recovery.”
Marvin began using substances like alcohol and marijuana in highschool, where partying was seen as a sign of ‘coolness’ as it still often is. His substance use continued throughout college and into law school, where a professor even urged students to not turn to substances to manage stress. Marvin recalls,
“My attitude was like, well, you don’t know me. I can. I can do it. I can do both…. Yeah, normal person can’t drink and get straight A’s, but I can.”
Marvin became a successful attorney, married, and found continued success in his career with leadership roles. Then finally, in his late thirties/early forties, a switch flipped and casual use turned into an addiction.
“And I then needed the substances. I couldn’t not have them. And I, and I was breaking.”
Marvin’s previous company, which he was the CEO of, lovingly directed him to get treatment. He did, and Marvin has been sober since. His treatment experience taught him more about the treatment industry, as did his wife’s recovery journey. It also pointed out a dire need for change.
Leading The Charge in The NAATP
The NAATP lists vetted, accredited, and licensed treatment providers that abide by their ethics code and quality assurance manual. In short, they’ve taken as many liberties as possible to ensure any provider that’s part of the NAATP will be ethical and focused on providing high-quality care. The NAATP also offers a guide for selecting treatment.
Our co-host, Cliff McDonald (Chief Growth Officer), notes this about the beginnings of Recovery.com and the notable impact the NAATP has had on each facet of the treatment space:
“They [Recovery.com founders] have modeled the ethical standards that we have for our business after NAATP. They credit NAATP and you as the ones that turned around the space and cleaned it up. So that is wonderful.”
When Marvin and the NAATP voiced concerns about the ethics of the treatment space and exposed shady practices, they promptly received pushback and criticism for “talking crap” about the treatment industry. They were even sued, but won the case. Marvin responds to such critics with,
“And, you know, that’s not what I was doing at all. I was saying, look, we’re wonderful, but we’ve got to recognize where the poison is and get it out so that we can be successful.” … “And, because we thought, you know what we need, if we need to get smaller to get better, we’ll get smaller to get better.” … “And within a year of our, removing, if you will, certain members and not having others renew or allowing others to renew, we grew. Significantly beyond where we started, right? And so we made our footprint in ethics.”
The NAATP also launched a recent initiative to measure outcomes in addiction treatment using their strong ethical and quality standards. This allows treatment providers to improve their programs with applicable, actionable data.
Goals in The Recovery Space
Marvin and the NAATP recognize stigma as a tall barrier to treatment. They’ve made progress in reducing stigma through addiction education, which is an ongoing goal for the NAATP.
Marvin also discusses emerging trends in substance use, like increased deaths from alcohol and stronger marijuana. The effects of these trends are another reason why he and the NAATP want to ensure people seeking treatment have a trustworthy place to find it.
Treatment Decided by Doctors and Scientists, Not Accountants
Marvin explained how insurance coverage works for behavioral health treatment and how insurance companies often dictate who gets treatment, and what level of care they receive; not doctors or scientists with education on the matter. Marvin says,
“In any universe that I can imagine, managed care means that the scientist doesn’t decide what health care you get. The accountant decides what health care you get.”
Ideally, insurance companies would respond better to a documented clinical need for a service and cover treatment. Reshaping how and what insurance covers improves access to care and has the power to reduce stigma as more conditions and needs are recognized as clinical conditions deserving compassionate care.
This episode dives into these subjects and more with humor, compassion, and intrigue. Listen to Marvin Ventrell’s episode now to explore these topics further and learn more about the addiction treatment industry.
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