Frequently Asked Questions, Intervention, Coaching & Treatment Placement | Epic Journey
21 Honest Answers

Real questions. Real answers.

The questions families actually ask us on the consult, about cost, insurance, timing, confidentiality, and what to expect. No fluff, no upsell. If your question isn't here, just call.

Transparent Disclosure

Epic Journey is a private behavioral health coaching, intervention, and advocacy practice, not a licensed treatment facility. We don't provide clinical therapy ourselves. We coach, advocate for, and refer clients to a vetted network of licensed clinicians: therapists, ketamine-assisted therapy providers, functional medicine doctors, and treatment programs in the U.S. and internationally. Anywhere clinical care is needed, we coordinate with licensed providers in our trusted network.

About Epic Journey
What does Epic Journey actually do?

Epic Journey is a premium behavioral health coaching, intervention, and advocacy practice. We are not a licensed treatment facility and we do not provide clinical therapy ourselves. We coach, advocate for, and refer clients to a vetted network of licensed clinicians, therapists, ketamine-assisted therapy providers, functional medicine doctors, and treatment programs in the U.S. and internationally.

Five core services: professional intervention, recovery coaching and mentorship, family support and coaching, sober mentorship, and vetted treatment placement into detox, residential, mental health, and outpatient programs.

Founder Preston Durnford works directly with every client. You're not handed off to a junior coach.

How is Epic Journey different from a treatment center?

Treatment centers are programs you go to. Epic Journey is the person who walks with you through every phase, before treatment (intervention, planning), during treatment (advocacy, family work), and after (coaching, mentorship, daily practice).

Founder Preston Durnford previously owned and operated detox, residential, mental health, and outpatient programs himself. This is the continuum-of-care practice that stays with you.

What's the difference between recovery coaching and therapy?

Therapy is clinical and tends to focus on processing the past. Recovery coaching is practical and focused on the present and future, building structure, accountability, daily practices, and real-world skills.

Many of our clients have a therapist and a coach. The two work together, not against each other.

Do you have any clinical licensure or credentials?

Preston is the founder of multiple licensed behavioral health programs (Fresh Start of California, SoCal Mental Health) and has spent 11+ years operating inside the licensed treatment system.

Epic Journey's coaching, intervention, and family-support services are practitioner-led and operator-trained, not clinical therapy. For clinical/therapy needs we refer to licensed clinicians within our trusted network.

Cost & Insurance
Do you accept insurance?

Treatment placement: yes, commercial PPO and HMO insurance only. We do not work with Medicare, Medi-Cal, Tricare, or any state-funded insurance for placement.

Coaching, intervention, mentorship, and family support are cash-pay services.

We can verify your insurance benefits for placement free of charge on the consult.

How much does an intervention cost?

Interventions are quoted based on travel distance, complexity, and the level of family preparation needed. Quotes are given directly on the free 15-minute consult after we understand the situation.

Most engagements include the pre-intervention family work, the day-of intervention, and the safe transport to the chosen program.

How long does recovery coaching last?

Engagements are structured around a minimum 3-month commitment because real change does not happen in 30 days. Most clients stay engaged for 6–12 months, which is the realistic timeline for building stable recovery.

How is the core 3-month engagement structured?

The core 3-month plan covers working directly with Preston Durnford (or the assigned senior coach) plus the retreat portion with trained facilitators. It includes weekly 1-on-1 coaching, mentorship, family touchpoints with Preston, case coordination, and crisis support. This is the custom plan for mind, body, and spirit.

The core plan does not include sessions with the additional contracted clinical specialists in the Epic Journey network. Those are billed separately. See below.

Are the contracted clinical specialists included in the core engagement?

No. The core plan covers working with Preston plus the retreat. The contracted clinical specialists (licensed therapists, psychiatrists, functional medicine doctors, nutritionists, holistic practitioners, peptide consultants, plant medicine integration guides, and so on) each bill separately by the provider.

We coordinate the team on your behalf as part of the core plan, but the specialists' time is an additional cost on top of the plan. We also work hourly and offer smaller packages sized to your needs and resources, and payment plans are available. We are upfront about this so you can plan and budget honestly. Exact pricing is discussed transparently on the free consult, no surprises.

What determines the cost of additional clinical specialists?

Three factors:

  1. Which specialist. A licensed therapist may bill differently than a functional medicine doctor or a psychiatrist.
  2. Frequency. Weekly sessions cost more than bi-weekly or monthly.
  3. Urgency and team coordination. An acute crisis that needs multiple specialists coordinating together every week costs more than a stable engagement with occasional touchpoints.

Every engagement is tailored to your needs and resources. Alongside the core 3-month plan, we also work hourly and offer smaller packages, and payment plans are available. Final personalized pricing is itemized transparently on the free consult, with no surprises.

Intervention & Timing
How fast can you mobilize for an intervention?

On urgent cases, 24 to 48 hours. Most interventions benefit from 3 to 5 days of family prep, but when the window is closing, we move fast.

Preston travels nationwide.

What if my loved one refuses treatment?

That's exactly when interventions work. A professionally led intervention isn't an ambush, it's a structured, calm, family-led conversation designed to give the loved one a clear next step and a real reason to say yes.

Roughly 85–90% of professionally led interventions result in the loved one entering treatment that same day.

Will my loved one know I called you?

Not unless you choose to tell them. Many of our family-support engagements happen quietly while the loved one is still in active addiction.

We work with you privately until the timing is right to bring it into the open.

What does treatment placement actually look like?

We learn your loved one's history, clinical needs, location preferences, and insurance. We then personally vet 2–3 programs we'd put our own family in.

We handle the warm hand-off, insurance verification, intake coordination, and transport. After admission, we stay engaged throughout the treatment stay and beyond.

Who We Work With
What ages and substances do you work with?

Primarily adults (18+) struggling with alcohol, opioids (including fentanyl), stimulants, benzodiazepines, polysubstance use, and co-occurring mental health conditions.

We also work with high-functioning professionals whose substance use is hidden, and with families dealing with relapse.

Can you help with mental health, not just addiction?

Yes. Many of our placements and coaching engagements are primary mental health (depression, anxiety, trauma, bipolar) with or without co-occurring substance use.

Preston also founded SoCal Mental Health specifically for this work.

Do you work with families who don't know what to do?

Yes, that's most of our work. Family support and coaching is specifically built for parents, spouses, and siblings who are exhausted, scared, and don't know the next right move.

We give you a real plan, real strategy, and a real person to call when things get hard. This is different from family therapy.

What if we've already tried treatment and it didn't work?

That's most of our clients. Most people are not in their first attempt, they've cycled through programs that didn't fit, didn't follow up, or didn't address the family system.

We build a plan around what's actually missing, not just another stay.

Format & Logistics
Where are you located? Do you work outside Southern California?

Epic Journey is headquartered in Newport Beach, Orange County, California.

In-person work happens primarily across Orange County, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Interventions are performed nationwide. Recovery coaching, family support, and mentorship are available virtually across the United States.

Do you do virtual sessions?

Yes. Recovery coaching, family support, and mentorship are all available virtually nationwide.

In-person sessions are available across Orange County and adjacent areas. Interventions are always in-person, anywhere in the U.S.

Is everything confidential?

Yes. Every conversation, every consult, every engagement is fully confidential. We never disclose your involvement with us to anyone without your explicit written consent.

This is a premium private-pay practice, discretion is built into how we operate.

Getting Started
What does the free 15-minute consult cover?

The free consult is a one-on-one phone call with Preston (or his team) to understand your situation, the loved one's history, what's been tried, and what feels most urgent.

We then give an honest recommendation, sometimes that's our services, sometimes it's not. No pressure, no sales pitch.

What is The Epic Journal?

The Epic Journal is a daily-practice journal authored by Preston Durnford for recovery, growth, and resilience.

Over 20,000 copies have been sold and it is used in treatment programs and behavioral health practices across the country.

How do I get started?

Book a free 15-minute consult at epicjourneyrecovery.com, or call .

One conversation, no pressure. We'll listen, give you an honest read on the situation, and tell you the next right move, even if it isn't us.

Still have a question? The fastest way to get a real answer is a 15-minute call.

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