Detox. Residential. PHP. IOP. Virtual outpatient. We shoot the video, run the ads, build the site, and automate the admissions CRM.
Different buyers, keywords, platforms, content per level. We tune the engine for what your program actually delivers.
Highest-intent search in behavioral health. Families in crisis. Conversion windows in hours, not days.
Flagship product. Highest LTV per admission. Buyers research deeply. Video and alumni stories convert.
Step-down from residential or step-up from IOP. Local SEO and referral relationships matter as much as paid.
Volume engine. Lower LTV, higher census. Insurance-aware messaging is critical.
Fastest-scaling level of care in 2026. Multi-state licensure unlocks national paid media.
Preston co-founded Fresh Start of California Detox in 2015 and ran admissions, intake, clinical ops, BD, and back-office hands-on for nine years. Sold 2025. Co-founded SoCal Mental Health, raised $12M. 12 years sober. Author of The Epic Journal, 20,000+ copies sold.
We don’t need to be taught what a UR cycle is, why VOB matters more than CTR, or why a $400 CPL can still be too expensive. We’ve lived it.
Families don’t enroll based on banner ads. They enroll because they watched a video that built trust. The centers that compound tell the real story on camera, every week.
The why, the clinical philosophy, the non-negotiables. Trust foundation every other video builds on.
TrustMD, clinical director, therapists, case managers. Methodology, modalities (CBT, DBT, EMDR, somatic), and clinical day. Professional credibility.
CredibilityBHTs see what clinical doesn’t. The 3am moments. The milieu. Most underused video subject in the industry.
AuthenticityHonest stories from graduates, HIPAA-compliant releases. The most powerful conversion asset a treatment center holds.
ConversionMom. Dad. Spouse. Sibling. The people who paid for treatment and picked up at 2am. Most overlooked category. Most persuasive to the actual buyer.
The buyerLong-form behavioral health and recovery interviews. Plus event work powered by PELORA.
Watch · Long-form
State of Mind
Guest appearance · "State of Mind" podcast
Preston was a guest on this episode. PELORA Marketing is not affiliated with, partnered with, or endorsed by the podcast or its host. Episode embedded with creator's permission.
Episode 46
The Epic Journal
The Epic Journal · Ep. 46
Recovery, founder mindset, and the lessons behind building treatment programs.
Watch · Long-form
Founder interview
Long-form interview
The same playbook PELORA walks every behavioral health client through, told from the operator side first.
1h 26m
Cambria Judd, MD
Functional medicine · Behavioral health
Preston Durnford x Cambria Judd, MD on functional medicine inside behavioral health and recovery programs.
49 min
Sam Mandel
Ketamine clinic · Mental health
Preston Durnford x Sam Mandel on ketamine therapy, IV protocols, and how clinics are scaling responsibly.
1h 01m
Dr. Kristi Vaughan
Functional medicine · Recovery
Preston Durnford x Dr. Kristi Vaughan on functional medicine protocols inside behavioral health treatment.
Alumni story
Will Mansfield · Pacific Shores
Alumni interview · Pacific Shores Recovery (partner program)
The exact format we shoot for treatment center clients. Real alumni, with full media release, telling the story their way. This is what one day of shooting at your facility produces.
1 min · Brand asset
The Epic Journal
Brand video · The Epic Journal · 20K+ copies sold
The behavioral health book Preston created. The same brand-asset format we produce for treatment centers, mental health programs, and consumer health brands.
Powered by PELORA
Red Songbird Foundation
Event work · Red Songbird Foundation
Sheckler, Alvarez & Bereman activation. The kind of event content treatment centers can produce for their alumni days, family weekends, and community partnerships.
No four-vendor handoffs. One team shoots, runs ads, builds the site, tunes the CRM. Operator-led. No junior team.
Multi-day shoots: owners, clinical team, BHTs, alumni, alumni family. On-site or off-site, HIPAA-compliant releases.
Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn. Strategy, calendar, posting, community management, DM workflow into admissions.
LegitScript and TID-compliant Google Ads. Meta ads through healthcare review with restricted-category creative.
Conversion-focused sites and landing pages. Webflow or WordPress. Full Schema, Core Web Vitals, mobile-first, AI-search ready.
4-8 posts per month in your voice. FAQ schema, internal linking. Ranks in SEO and gets cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews.
HubSpot or GoHighLevel front-end. Integrates with Kipu, Sunwave, BestNotes, Lightning Step, AdvancedMD. Speed-to-lead under 5 minutes.
What the work actually costs at compliant, on-location, operator-led quality. All six tiers →
Smaller programs ($300K to $1M monthly revenue) can start on our $2,500 Launch or $4,500 Growth tier and scale into the bigger work as census grows. See all six tiers →
PELORA is a behavioral health marketing agency in Newport Beach founded by Preston Durnford, who has owned and operated licensed treatment programs since 2015. We work across detox, residential, PHP, IOP, virtual outpatient, mental health, dual-diagnosis, eating disorder, and trauma. Our edge is operator experience — admissions, intake, clinical ops, BD, back-office run from the operator side. Behavioral health is uniquely regulated (restricted categories, LegitScript, HIPAA, 42 CFR Part 2, state brokering laws). We build the engine end to end.
Yes. Full continuum: medical detox (5-14 days), residential (30/60/90), PHP, IOP, virtual outpatient, sober living, mental health residential, dual-diagnosis, eating disorder, trauma, family programs. Each LOC has different buyers, keywords, approved platforms, and content needs.
Video is the highest-trust format. Behavioral health is the highest-trust purchase. Families don’t enroll loved ones based on banner ads — they enroll because they watched the owner, clinical director, BHTs, alumni, and family members on camera. We shoot all of it on location and distribute across site, blog, social, ads, email, SMS. One shoot day fuels three months of distribution.
Five subjects: 1) Owners/executives on philosophy; 2) Clinical team on methodology and modalities (CBT, DBT, EMDR, somatic); 3) BHTs on milieu and 24-hour experience; 4) Alumni with full release; 5) Alumni family with full release. HIPAA preserved through written auth, blurring on request, off-property filming when needed, never filming current clients without written consent. We work alongside your compliance officer and clinical director.
Yes. Requires LegitScript certification and Google TID. Roughly $1,995/facility plus annual renewal. We handle the application and TID setup. Once certified, we run paid search (detox near me, rehab + city, IOP + insurance), display, YouTube, and remarketing. We track cost-per-admission, not just CPL.
Yes, with care. Meta classifies behavioral health as restricted. Ads go through healthcare review. We structure creative around education, family resources, alumni stories with permission, and softer entry points (guides, masterclasses, podcasts). Once they engage, we move them to the LegitScript-certified site. We’ve scaled past $500 CPA thresholds without violations.
We integrate with Kipu, Sunwave, BestNotes, Lightning Step, AdvancedMD, TenEleven. Marketing front-end: HubSpot or GoHighLevel. Critical features: speed-to-lead under 5 min, missed-call text-back, two-way SMS, family contact tracking, VOB workflow, source attribution. We tune for cost-per-admission, not CPL.
Industry benchmarks: 15-25% of gross revenue for growth-stage, 8-12% for steady-state. A 30-bed residential at $1.2M-$2.5M/mo typically spends $30K-$80K across ads, video, social, web, CRM, SEO. Our retainers start at $6,500/mo (Scale), $12,000 (Enterprise), $18,000+ (Full-Service). Smaller programs can start at $2,500 Launch or $4,500 Growth.
LegitScript is the certification Google requires for any business advertising addiction/SUD treatment. The application reviews licensure, accreditation (Joint Commission/CARF), staffing, philosophy, ownership, compliance. ~$1,995/facility plus $1,995 annual renewal, with inspection. Without it, Google won’t approve. We handle the application and TID setup.
42 CFR Part 2 governs SUD record confidentiality — stricter than HIPAA. Marketing-side: no current-client filming without written auth, alumni releases must cover channels and duration, no PHI in ad creative, no client photos without consent. All clinical content cleared by your compliance officer before publishing.
Yes. EKRA (2018) prohibits anything-of-value payments for patient referrals. State laws are tighter — FL 817.505 carries criminal penalties; CA enforces aggressively. Our retainers are flat fee. We don’t buy or sell leads. No admission-tied commissions.
Preston has been in behavioral health 12 years as both operator and marketer. Marketing was the first business. Profits from it funded the first detox in 2015 (Fresh Start of California Detox, 2 locations, both sold 2025). Co-founded SoCal Mental Health ($12M raised). Author of The Epic Journal (20,000+ sold, 1K-1.5K/month organic). Operates Epic Journey Recovery (epicjourneyrecovery.co), PELORA’s sister behavioral health company. Guest on long-form behavioral health podcasts, including the State of Mind podcast. Full founder story →
Yes. Headquartered in Newport Beach, with concentrated work across OC, LA, San Diego, Bay Area, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Tennessee, Utah, remote nationwide. We travel for on-location shoots with a vetted network of regional operators so quality stays consistent.
Your levels of care, funnel, spend, census gaps. No pitch deck. Yes or no on the call. Scope in 72 hours if we’re a fit. If not, you leave with a punch list any agency can use.
