# mentalhealthretreat.guide

Site grounding for agents without the mentalhealthretreat.guide repository: its seven charter files, unchanged except that headings sit two levels lower and every term id the pinned version defines, in the frontmatter blocks too, is followed by its label from the pinned version. The YAML blocks are therefore for reading, not parsing; the repo files are the source.

- Domain: mentalhealthretreat.guide
- Pins: editorial-charter@1.3.1, portfolio-icp@1.0.0
- Repo: 1c5fc47f378c92d9d5b5ba19574e448bb31c3daf (committed 2026-10-03T14:44:15-07:00)
- Built 2026-10-05T03:25:29+00:00
- Pages: https://taxonomy.tfw.bz/sites/mentalhealthretreat.guide/

## BRAND.md

Version 1.1.1 · status draft · sha256 e865d45dc41c926d52d9a651874f4d3a5f7d60517c48c10865af6198c020cbbb

```yaml
charter: 1
version: 1.1.1
profile: editorial-charter@1.3.1
domain: mentalhealthretreat.guide
status: draft
reviewed_by: ""
archetype: charter:brand-archetype-caregiver (caregiver)
secondary_archetype: charter:brand-archetype-sage (sage)
claims: []
```

### BRAND

#### Name and entity
Mental Health Retreat Guide (mentalhealthretreat.guide), published by Thomas Prommer. Entity home: https://mentalhealthretreat.guide/en/about/ (`about.manifest.json`). Contact comms@flywheel.bz.

#### Promise
A calm guide that tells you what each level of care is, what to ask a program, and when a retreat is the wrong choice.

#### Personality
The caregiver, with a sage streak: patient, plain and protective of a reader who may be in a hard week. It defines terms before it advises, draws the safety line early and never sells urgency. Source: VOICE.md sections 1 and 3, briefs/strategy.md voice option a.

#### Visual pointers
Direction "Breathe" (slow, spacious, serif headline), picked 2026-09-17: `design/DIRECTION.md`. `design/tokens.json` holds the tokens and `DESIGN.md` the system. Nothing is copied here.

#### Do / Don't
Do: answer first, then define the care level involved. Do: show the crisis line (988 in the US) on every page. Do: say "a retreat is not treatment" where it applies. Do: date any coverage or legal statement. Do: cite primary sources such as SAMHSA, NIMH and state licensing boards.
Don't: use cure, miracle or guaranteed-results language. Don't: rank programs or call any "the best". Don't: tell patient stories without sourced consent. Don't: name a medical reviewer who has not been assigned. Don't: let any payment change sort order.

## VOICE.md

Version 1.0.1 · status draft · sha256 f9b6c55c78fdc40ed9fd49cacf79ef9c64fccbdbde59e4ce64dd4d486ee486e1

```yaml
charter: 1
version: 1.0.1
profile: editorial-charter@1.3.1
domain: mentalhealthretreat.guide
status: draft
reviewed_by: ""
register: charter:voice-register-practitioner (practitioner)
person: charter:voice-person-third (third person)
languages: [en, de, es, fr, pt]
addresses: [level-of-care-deciders, family-researchers]
essence: A calm, plain guide that explains levels of care honestly, including when a retreat is the wrong choice.
```

<!-- ASSUMED DEFAULT, 2026-09-17: recommended voice option 'a. Plain clinical guide' from ~/reports/site-strategy/mentalhealthretreat.guide.json, pending Tom's review in ~/reports/site-decisions/index.html. If Tom picks another voice this file is replaced. -->

### VOICE: Mental Health Retreat Guide (mentalhealthretreat.guide)

> Loaded by /humanizer (Step 0) and the content publishing gate (drafting Step 1
> + humanizer Step 3). If absent, both fall back to generic mode.

#### 1. Identity & Register
- Voice owner / who speaks: Mental Health Retreat Guide editors, third person with second person in decision sections; every page medically reviewed before publish
- Register: practitioner
- Language/locale: en (US English); other locales in section 9
- One-line essence: "A calm, plain guide that explains levels of care honestly, including when a retreat is the wrong choice."

#### 2. Audience
- Primary audience: mixed (adults with burnout, anxiety or depression and family members deciding for them)
- Reader's job-to-be-done: decide which level of care fits right now (retreat, outpatient, intensive outpatient, residential, inpatient) and what to ask a program
- Assume they know: that they or someone close is struggling; little about care levels or insurance
- Always explain: what each level of care is, who staffs it, licensing and accreditation, insurance coverage, what happens after discharge, when to call 988 or emergency services

#### 3. Tone Axes  (mark where this voice sits)
- Formal   ──●────  Casual
- Authority ─●─────  Peer
- Serious  ●──────  Playful
- Concise  ───●───  Expansive
- Default editorial_track: factual

#### 4. Person, POV & Cadence
- Person: third person for definitions, second person for 'is this right for you' and questions-to-ask sections
- Sentence rhythm: even, unhurried sentences; one idea per sentence in safety statements; no rhetorical questions
- Paragraph length: 2-3 sentences
- Structural tics to keep: answer first; 'a retreat is not treatment' boundary where relevant; questions-to-ask lists; crisis line block on every page; closing line 'Educational information only. Not medical advice.'
- Structural tics to avoid: urgency marketing, before-and-after stories, rankings of programs

#### 5. Lexicon
- Preferred terms: level of care, licensed, accredited, clinical staff, psychiatrist, therapist, aftercare, intensive outpatient program (IOP), residential treatment
- Banned phrases (beyond humanizer's generic list): cure, heal your mind, reset your brain, miracle, guaranteed results, escape your anxiety, best mental health retreat, luxury rehab, get your life back
- Capitalization & spelling rules: IOP and PHP spelled out on first use; 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in full on first use; US English
- Domain-jargon level: low to medium; define every care-level term inline

#### 6. E-E-A-T / Experience Claims  (anchors gate Step 7)
- Authentic experience this voice can claim: None personal. No patient stories unless sourced and consented. No clinician credentials until a real medical reviewer is named.
- Named author + bio source: Editors byline plus 'Medically reviewed by' only once Tom assigns a real licensed reviewer
- Quantified credential for bios: Reviewer license type and years in practice, taken from a verifiable license lookup; never invented
- Citation posture: Primary sources only: SAMHSA, NIMH, state licensing boards, accreditation bodies, statutes. Date any coverage or legal statement ('As of September 2026').
- Original-data hooks this voice owns: a structured table of what each listed program discloses (license, accreditation, psychiatric staff, aftercare) once listings exist
- "What I got wrong" angle: Where it fits, name the common decision error (choosing a wellness retreat when symptoms need clinical care, skipping aftercare planning).

#### 7. Gold-Standard Examples  (few-shot anchor)
- Example A (provisional, from the strategy sample for /en/levels-of-care/retreat-vs-inpatient/; replace with a published paragraph once live): "A mental health retreat and inpatient care are different levels of support. Inpatient care is a hospital stay with round-the-clock medical and psychiatric staff, used when someone is at risk of harming themselves or cannot stay safe at home. A retreat is a short stay built around rest, therapy sessions or skills groups, and many are not licensed as treatment facilities. If you are having thoughts of suicide, a retreat is not the right step: call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or go to an emergency room. For stable symptoms, ask any program whether it is licensed and who is on staff."
  - Why on-voice: defines both terms, draws the safety line, ends on a concrete check

#### 8. Anti-References  (do NOT sound like)
- Treatment-center call-now landing pages
- Luxury rehab lifestyle marketing
- Wellness influencer 'my healing retreat' posts

#### 9. Other languages
Voice is authored in English. Each language version is written natively for its market (handover 6.6), not translated sentence by sentence. Machine assist only through DeepL.
- de: Native German, "Sie" throughout. Use the German care terms readers know ("stationäre Behandlung", "Tagesklinik", "psychosomatische Klinik", "Reha") and explain how they differ from a Retreat; the German system is not the US system, so never map IOP or residential terms one to one. Crisis line per market (for Germany the Telefonseelsorge), verified and linked.
- es: Native Spanish, "usted" on all pages because the topic is clinical and readers include family members. Care terms per market (Spain vs Mexico differ). Local crisis line verified per country.
- fr: Native French, "vous". Use French system terms ("hospitalisation complète", "hôpital de jour", "cure") with care. Local crisis line (for France the 3114) verified and linked.
- pt: Native Brazilian Portuguese with formal "você" and no slang; CAPS and internação terms for Brazil explained. Local crisis line (for Brazil the CVV) verified and linked.

## STRATEGY.md

Version 1.0.1 · status draft · sha256 fc9b2ac03569d80f35b9979ae438b2ded4119bbdb7062ec2dd9a43866992ed79

```yaml
charter: 1
version: 1.0.1
profile: editorial-charter@1.3.1
domain: mentalhealthretreat.guide
status: draft
reviewed_by: ""
mission_shape: charter:mission-shape-serve-x-to-achieve-y (serve X to achieve Y)
horizon: charter:horizon-12m (12 months)
positioning:
  primary: charter:positioning-axis-authority-depth (authority depth)
  secondary: [charter:positioning-axis-speed-of-answer (speed of answer)]
audiences:
  - kind: charter:audience-kind-consumer (consumer)
    name: Level-of-care deciders
    segment: level-of-care-deciders
    job_to_be_done: Work out which level of care fits right now and what a program must have before saying yes.
  - kind: charter:audience-kind-consumer (consumer)
    name: Family researchers
    segment: family-researchers
    job_to_be_done: Understand the care options well enough to help someone close to them choose.
profile_required: true
```

### STRATEGY

#### Mission
We help adults deciding on mental health support, and the family members helping them, understand the levels of care so they can choose a program with the right licence and staff.

#### Positioning
Authority depth first: primary sources (SAMHSA, NIMH, state boards, statutes), dated statements and a clear line where a retreat is the wrong choice. Speed of answer second: each page opens with the answer, then the definition. We concede price position, since nothing here is discounted or ranked, and locality, since the first listings are not built. Source: briefs/strategy.md, VOICE.md sections 4 and 6.

#### Audiences
Level-of-care deciders are adults who have found that managing alone is no longer working and want to know whether a retreat, outpatient, intensive outpatient, residential or inpatient care fits. Family researchers are partners, parents and adult children reading on someone else's behalf, usually after a worsening week or a clinician's suggestion. Both know little about care levels or insurance. Source: briefs/strategy.md, ICP a.

#### Competitors
SAMHSA and hospital-system pages that rank for care-level queries with strong authority, directory services such as Psychology Today, and the named behavioral health centers and retreat operators that dominate navigational searches. Source: briefs/strategy.md.

#### What we will not do
No per-referral or per-admission fees. No paid ranking or paid sort order. No crisis counselling or individual clinical advice. No patient stories without sourced consent. No listings invented to fill a directory page. No addiction programs without LegitScript certification. Source: briefs/site.md, briefs/strategy.md, VOICE.md section 4.

#### Bets for the horizon
1. Publish the English levels-of-care and cost clusters first, because they carry the care-level queries (moves gsc_clicks).
2. Build the directory only from programs that disclose licence, accreditation and staffing, and show that table on every listing (moves content_engaged).
3. Get the five-language plan indexed once drafts pass medical review (moves pages_indexed).

## AUDIENCE.md

Version 1.0.2 · status draft · sha256 e7db5c348b2f6a9eb3cd5f1cd9160c2b0638f722de0de354c77b3957fa9e3ed8

```yaml
charter: 1
version: 1.0.2
profile: editorial-charter@1.3.1
domain: mentalhealthretreat.guide
status: draft
reviewed_by: ""
segments:
  - slug: level-of-care-deciders
    name: Level-of-care deciders
    kind: charter:audience-kind-consumer (consumer)
    archetype: icp:unmapped (Unmapped)  # intended: a new "care-level decider" archetype; none of the pinned portfolio-icp archetypes fits (MENTALHE-Q2)
    priority: charter:segment-priority-primary (primary)
    job_to_be_done: Work out which level of care fits right now and what a program must have before saying yes.
    funnel_stages: [charter:funnel-stage-consideration (consideration), charter:funnel-stage-decision (decision)]
    languages: [en]
    regions: [US]
    pains:
      - Care terms are confusing and marketing blurs them.
      - Fear of choosing a wellness retreat when clinical care is needed.
      - Insurance coverage is unclear.
    channels: [charter:channel-organic-search (organic search)]
    size_signal: {metric: monthly_searches, value: 27150, unit: count}
    evidence:
      default: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "agent draft 2026-10-03 from briefs/strategy.md ICP a and briefs/site.md", as_of: 2026-10-03}
      size_signal: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "briefs/strategy.md (ICP a size signal, 7 planned en pages, copied as written)", as_of: 2026-10-03}
      regions: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "agent assumption 2026-10-03: US English queries and US state pages in briefs/pages.json; no country data read", as_of: 2026-10-03}
      channels: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "agent draft 2026-10-03 from briefs/strategy.md 'Where they search'", as_of: 2026-10-03}

  - slug: family-researchers
    name: Family researchers
    kind: charter:audience-kind-consumer (consumer)
    archetype: icp:unmapped (Unmapped)  # intended: the same new "care-level decider" archetype (MENTALHE-Q2)
    priority: charter:segment-priority-secondary (secondary)
    job_to_be_done: Understand the care options well enough to help someone close to them choose.
    funnel_stages: [charter:funnel-stage-awareness (awareness), charter:funnel-stage-consideration (consideration)]
    languages: [en]
    regions: [US]
    pains:
      - Unsure whether the situation needs clinical care.
      - Do not know what a program must have.
    channels: [charter:channel-organic-search (organic search)]
    evidence:
      default: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "agent draft 2026-10-03 from briefs/strategy.md ICP a ('or a parent, partner or adult child researching on their behalf') and briefs/site.md", as_of: 2026-10-03}
```

### AUDIENCE

#### Level-of-care deciders
Adults who want to know which level of care fits right now: retreat, outpatient, intensive outpatient, residential or inpatient. They are told apart by the decision in front of them, not by any condition. Little is assumed about insurance or care terms. Source: briefs/strategy.md ICP a, VOICE.md section 2.

#### Family researchers
Partners, parents and adult children reading on someone else's behalf, often after a worsening week or a clinician's suggestion of more support. They need the same care-level definitions and the same questions to ask a program. Source: briefs/strategy.md ICP a.

#### Excluded audiences
Not written for people in crisis (the pages point to 988 and emergency services instead), minors, and programs looking to buy rank or per-referral placement. Segments carry no diagnosis or health condition. Source: briefs/site.md, briefs/strategy.md, STRATEGY.md section What we will not do.

## MONETIZATION.md

Version 1.0.1 · status draft · sha256 91dfc242f9d5585753cc955ba79dc8857a57b672f64b5ee056002ad9bf452d13

```yaml
charter: 1
version: 1.0.1
profile: editorial-charter@1.3.1
domain: mentalhealthretreat.guide
status: draft
reviewed_by: ""
revenue_lines:
  - slug: verified-listings
    name: Verified program listings, flat monthly fee
    type: charter:revenue-type-paid-listing (paid listing)
    network: Own product, no network
    program_status: charter:program-status-unchecked (unchecked)
    commission_model: charter:commission-model-flat-fee (flat fee)
    placements: [charter:placement-type-listing (listing)]
    segments: [level-of-care-deciders]
    kpi_key: sponsored_income_recorded
    status: charter:revenue-status-idea (idea)
    share_band: charter:revenue-share-band-marginal (marginal)
    start_trigger: Tom confirms the model, a state-by-state legal review is done and a listing database exists
    evidence:
      default: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "agent draft 2026-10-03 from briefs/strategy.md Monetization option b (assumed default, pending Tom's review)", as_of: 2026-10-03}
  - slug: contextual-display-ads
    name: Contextual display ads on guide pages
    type: charter:revenue-type-display-ads (display ads)
    commission_model: charter:commission-model-rpm (RPM)
    placements: [charter:placement-type-display-slot (display slot)]
    segments: [level-of-care-deciders]
    kpi_key: ad_revenue_recorded
    status: charter:revenue-status-idea (idea)
    share_band: charter:revenue-share-band-marginal (marginal)
    start_trigger: Tom confirms, and only after a policy on ads beside crisis and clinical content exists
    evidence:
      default: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "agent draft 2026-10-03 from briefs/strategy.md ('Contextual ads (option a) run alongside on guides')", as_of: 2026-10-03}
```

### MONETIZATION

#### Revenue model
Nothing earns yet and no line is live. The assumed default in briefs/strategy.md is a flat monthly verified-listing fee paid by programs, with contextual ads alongside guides. Both are ideas until Tom confirms, and neither has a number here.

#### Disclosure rules
Paid tiers are labelled on the page. A verified badge says what was checked (licence number, accreditation, named clinical director, published pricing, aftercare) and that it is not an endorsement. Sort order stays editorial and is never for sale.

#### Not monetised
No per-referral, per-inquiry or per-admission payment, and no percentage of a program's revenue. No affiliate links to programs. No paid sort order. No addiction programs unless LegitScript certified. Source: briefs/strategy.md compliance note (state patient-brokering rules, federal EKRA, FTC endorsement guides).

#### Verified program listings, flat monthly fee
Programs list free with basic facts. A flat fee, fixed in advance and independent of inquiries or admissions, adds a badge, photos and a longer profile. It needs a legal review per state before the first sale. Status: idea.

#### Contextual display ads on guide pages
Ads run beside guide pages only. Whether ads belong near crisis and clinical content at all is an open decision. Status: idea.

## KPI.md

Version 1.0.1 · status draft · sha256 cef8e54bc570e8ecf3bb648fadc04b6eb754fedc00025bf8fd114cc62f49e80a

```yaml
charter: 1
version: 1.0.1
profile: editorial-charter@1.3.1
domain: mentalhealthretreat.guide
status: draft
reviewed_by: ""
template: charter:kpi-template-editorial-traffic (editorial traffic)
template_override: ""
kpis:
  - {key: pageview_recorded, role: charter:kpi-role-primary (primary)}
  - {key: gsc_clicks, role: charter:kpi-role-secondary (secondary)}
  - {key: gsc_impressions, role: charter:kpi-role-secondary (secondary)}
  - {key: avg_position, role: charter:kpi-role-secondary (secondary)}
  - {key: content_engaged, role: charter:kpi-role-secondary (secondary)}
  - {key: newsletter_subscribed, role: charter:kpi-role-secondary (secondary)}
  - {key: affiliate_clicked, role: charter:kpi-role-secondary (secondary)}
  - {key: crawl_errors, role: charter:kpi-role-guardrail (guardrail)}
  - {key: pages_indexed, role: charter:kpi-role-guardrail (guardrail)}
catalog_sha: 4304fc97e9ac457725bdc25dcbb724c36257a707cbb3c237b69cd3e7ba04ac39
```

### KPI

#### Why these metrics
The site is pre-launch and earns nothing, so it is run on reach: pageview_recorded is the primary. gsc_clicks, gsc_impressions and avg_position show whether the care-level queries in briefs/strategy.md are being won. content_engaged shows whether a page is read to the end. newsletter_subscribed is carried from the template. affiliate_clicked is also a template key and stays enabled but unused, because the site takes no affiliate links. crawl_errors and pages_indexed are the guardrails while 125 planned pages go live.

#### Reading guide
Read pageview_recorded each week against the `(site)` value target in kpi-mgmt once one exists. Rising gsc_impressions with flat gsc_clicks means titles or position are the problem. A fall in pages_indexed or a rise in crawl_errors outranks any traffic gain.

#### Review cadence
Quarterly, with the 12-month bets in STRATEGY.md.

## taxonomy/binding.yaml

Version 1.0.1 · status draft · sha256 aaa253392bbb7a22bbb18448c38b5e9d1b7871a3d323464d151b4e167da16635

```yaml
charter: 1
version: 1.0.1
profile: editorial-charter@1.3.1
domain: mentalhealthretreat.guide
status: draft
reviewed_by: ""
iab_content: ["iab:286", "iab:223"]
icp_profile: portfolio-icp@1.0.0
content_profile: null
languages: [en, de, es, fr, pt]
regions: [US]
```