Love First

What Love First does

Love First, Inc. is a US-based, privately held clinical intervention and family recovery practice founded around 2000 by Debra Jay and Jeff Jay, operating out of Grosse Pointe, Michigan. The firm delivers the proprietary Love First Intervention, a structured clinical approach to guiding families through intervention for alcoholism and drug addiction, alongside the Structured Family Recovery (SFR) program, a family-based recovery methodology supported by Debra Jay's book It Takes a Family. A team of roughly six to seven credentialed clinical interventionists (MA, LPC, LCSW, CAADC, ICADC) delivers services directly to families, with dedicated tracks for young adults, impaired professionals, people over 50, dual diagnosis, and compulsive behaviors.

Beyond direct services, Love First runs a professional training business certifying interventionists and SFR counselors through multi-day, in-person sessions with bundled lodging and meals, and operates the 12Care recovery support service, SFR Snap Training for Families, and The Best Minds Podcast. Revenue is generated from five streams: clinical intervention services, interventionist training, SFR counselor training, book royalties (six titles published by Hazelden and distributed via Amazon and major retailers), and 12Care/recovery mentoring, all priced on a quote basis with no publicly disclosed rate cards. Customer acquisition relies on direct-to-consumer phone intake, organic search through a 120+ page content library, professional referrals from therapists, social workers, clergy, and EAPs, and referral partnerships with treatment centers including Guest House, The Retreat, Hazelden, Crossroads Antigua, and Project Turnabout.

Name

Love First

Legal name

Love First, Inc.

Website

https://lovefirst.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Love First is a private, founder-led clinical intervention and family recovery practice that delivers proprietary intervention services, Structured Family Recovery counseling, and certified training to families and professionals affected by addiction.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Addiction Intervention and Family Recovery Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Other Individual and Family Services (62419), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Parenting Support Services (BPAGAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Family Engagement & Caregiver Support Programs (SEL/Mental Health) (EDAKAMAK)

Keywords

• Addiction intervention services
• Family recovery programs
• Clinical interventionist training
• Structured family recovery
• Substance abuse counseling

Headquarters

HQ city

Grosse Pointe

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Clinical Intervention Services: Professional intervention services delivered by certified clinical interventionists working directly with families to facilitate treatment acceptance
2. Interventionist Training: Love First Certified Clinical Interventionist training programs for experienced clinicians and clergy
3. SFR Counselor Training: Structured Family Recovery® Counselor training for professionals
4. Book Sales: Sales of books by Jeff Jay and Debra Jay including Love First, It Takes a Family, Navigating Grace, No More Letting Go, Aging and Addiction, and At Wits End
5. Recovery Support Services: 12Care recovery mentoring and testing services for newly recovering individuals

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Love First provides clinical intervention services and family recovery programs for families affected by alcoholism and drug addiction. The company's core offerings include the Love First Intervention Model, the Structured Family Recovery® (SFR) program, 12Care recovery support, and professional training certifications for interventionists and counselors, supported by a portfolio of six published books and a podcast.

Product overview

Love First is a service-based organization offering structured family recovery and intervention services. The core offerings include the Love First Intervention (clinical intervention services), the Structured Family Recovery® program (a family-based recovery methodology), and professional training programs for interventionists and counselors. The company also provides 12Care™ Recovery Support and Recovery Mentoring as add-on services. Supporting the service offerings is a portfolio of published books (Love First, It Takes a Family, Navigating Grace, No More Letting Go, Aging and Addiction, At Wits End), The Best Minds Podcast, and SFR Snap Training™ resources. The company operates primarily through trained clinical interventionists and certified counselors who deliver services directly to families.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 12Care: Recovery support service including mentoring and testing services to help rebuild trust with newly recovering individuals
• The Best Minds Podcast

Products and services

• Love First Intervention Clinical intervention services for alcoholism and drug addiction, guiding families through the Love First intervention model to help loved ones accept treatment and begin recovery.
• Structured Family Recovery® (SFR) A family-based recovery program that creates Recovery Teams to leverage family support for avoiding relapse and achieving long-term success, based on the book 'It Takes a Family' by Debra Jay.
• 12Care™ Recovery Support Recovery support services providing mentoring and testing to help rebuild trust and support newly recovering individuals to beat the odds and avoid relapse.
• Recovery Mentoring One-on-one mentoring services to support individuals in early recovery and help them maintain sobriety.
• Love First Interventionist Training Professional certification training for clinicians and clergy to become certified clinical interventionists using the Love First model.
• SFR Counselor Training Training program for counselors to become certified Structured Family Recovery® counselors, teaching them to implement the SFR framework with families.
• Love First (book) The flagship book by Jeff Jay and Debra Jay, now in its 3rd edition, providing guidance on the Love First intervention approach for families dealing with alcoholism and addiction.
• It Takes a Family (book) Book by Debra Jay showing families how to support a loved one's sobriety and bring the family together, the foundation for the Structured Family Recovery® program. Now in its 2nd edition.
• Navigating Grace (book) Book by Jeff Jay about his personal recovery journey and spiritual insights from the Twelve Steps.
• No More Letting Go (book) Book by Debra Jay addressing the concept of 'hitting bottom' and why families shouldn't wait to take action.
• Aging and Addiction (book) Book by Jeff and Debra Jay addressing addiction issues specific to older adults.
• At Wits End (book) Book by Jeff and Debra Jay offering guidance for families dealing with addiction.

Named customers6 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Treatment Centers NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLove First maintains relationships with multiple treatment centers for patient referrals, including Guest House (Michigan), The Retreat (Wayzata, MN), Hazelden, Crossroads Antigua, and others listed on their Treatment Centers resource page
• University of Michigan Collegiate Recovery ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured collegiate recovery program providing support for students in recovery; Love First provides educational content and podcast features about collegiate recovery issues
• The RetreatcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Retreat in Wayzata, MN is described as 'the most admired twelve step immersion program in the country.' Hosts SFR counselor training and features Love First content; Sherry Gaugler-Stewart is Director of Family and Spiritual Recovery there and is a certified SFR Counselor
• Project Turnabout / Vanguard Center for Problem GamblingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Turnabout in Granite Falls, MN includes the Vanguard Center for Problem Gambling—one of only residential programs dedicated solely to gambling addiction. Mike Schiks served as CEO for 14 years and appears on The Best Minds Podcast
• Crossroads AntiguaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEric Clapton's treatment center in Antigua. Jeff Jay has referred patients there and describes it as competitively priced with scholarship availability. Monthly family program offered.
• HazeldenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTreatment center partnership through HazelFest event and book publishing (Hazelden is publisher for Love First books). Event held at Hazelden campus in Center City, Minnesota.
• AmazonminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAmazon affiliate links mentioned for book sales. Books published by Hazelden and available through Amazon.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Faces & Voices of Recovery: National recovery advocacy nonprofit focused on mobilizing the recovery community and supporting families. Comparable in family-recovery education and advocacy footprint, though organized as a movement rather than a paid clinical service.
• SMART Recovery: Nonprofit offering self-management and recovery training programs, including family/friends support and online meetings. Competes for the same family-recovery audience with a secular, digital-native methodology versus Love First's clinical in-person intervention.

Direct peers

• The Retreat: Wayzata, MN-based 12-step immersion program that hosts Love First's SFR Counselor training and partners closely with their family recovery model. Operates in an adjacent recovery-services niche with overlapping family-program philosophy.
• Guest House (for Clergy): Michigan-based treatment center specifically for clergy and religious professionals, with a published testimonial for Love First's intervention training. Directly comparable niche focus on impaired professionals and faith-based recovery.
• Project Turnabout / Vanguard Center: Granite Falls, MN treatment center that includes the Vanguard Center for Problem Gambling, one of the only residential programs dedicated solely to gambling addiction. Active partner of Love First (CEO Mike Schiks is a podcast guest), overlapping in compulsive-behavior intervention.

Broad incumbents

• Caron Treatment Centers: Long-established, multi-state addiction treatment provider offering intervention services, family programs, and clinician training. Comparable in serving families in addiction crisis and providing intervention-adjacent services, though as part of a much larger treatment operation.
• Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation: One of the largest addiction treatment and recovery organizations in the US and Love First's publishing partner (Hazelden publishes the Love First books). Overlapping scope in addiction recovery education, intervention training, and family support — but operating a full residential treatment system rather than a pure intervention practice.

Others

• National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD): National advocacy organization providing interventionist referrals, family education, and training resources. Overlaps with Love First's family-facing intervention mission and training programs but is advocacy-led rather than clinical-services-led.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/interventionresources
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/love-first-intervention

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Love First