According to Kaiser Health News, addiction treatment is very attractive to private equity firms banking on big returns.
These firms, according to an article titled, “Some Addiction Treatment Centers Turn Big Profits by Scaling Back Care,” are relying on forecasts predicting the market will double in size to $10 billion by 2029.
The financial growth is being driven by the care needed for those who abuse drugs and alcohol. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health revealed that 40.3 million Americans aged 12 or older had a substance use disorder in the preceding year.
Chris Thompson, developer of the Sober Sidekick engagement platform, argues that his strategy for combating substance abuse is disrupting the addiction treatment industry—for the betterment of the patient.
“Right now, a majority of the industry is fee for service,” Chris said. “There are no incentives regarding outcomes. There is very little incentive for clients to get well.”
Driven by innovation, Sober Sidekick’s ground-breaking strategy relies on online community support. And that’s why 80% of the free app’s user-generated content isn’t directly related to addiction.
“Sober Sidekick is about life and meeting basic human needs,” he said. “When you meet those basic human needs for connection and vulnerability, the need to use substances goes away.”
And this is part of what led Chris to develop Sober Sidekick. The engagement platform harnesses the Empathy Algorithm, designed by Chris, to empower understanding among a community of people who share the common bond of past or current substance abuse.
“Our 100% peer response rate is driven by the Empathy Algorithm, which works behind-the-scenes to make sure that members of this community reach out every single time someone posts to the platform,” Chris said. “The way I see it, people don’t come back for the features of this engagement platform—they come back for each other.”
Revolving around messages posted on the engagement platform, and private messages sent through this app, Sober Sidekick strengthens the fabric of the online community that Chris created.
“When you focus on the individual and meeting the needs behind their addiction, you can end this cycle of substance abuse,” Chris said.
Since launching in 2018, Chris and Sober Sidekick have progressed rapidly.
The platform has grown to 180K total users and more than 5K written reviews, many of which claim—“Sober Sidekick saved my life.” The American Heart Association is the lead investor in Sober Sidekick, and Chris won the NWA Innovator of the Year Award. Also, the Validation Institute has affirmed Sober Sidekick’s assertion that those who use the engagement platform are more likely to maintain their sobriety.
The philosophy behind Sober Sidekick is simple—the more support you give to other members, the more you receive in return. The posts are anonymous, but carry the potential to change lives.
Chris said it all comes back to overcoming isolation, by hopefully meeting the right person at the right time. Both of these things, he added, were crucial to his recovery.
Speaking of Sober Sidekick’s drawing power, Chris said, “It’s the community, it’s the fact that on this platform, no one has ever gone once without support.”
Visit sobersidekick.com to learn more.