How educational content across the Shrink Network is sourced, evaluated, and written. This page describes the network-wide standard. Individual properties may publish their own methodology pages with property-specific detail.
Source hierarchy
Medical claims are written from primary and authoritative sources, in this order of preference:
- Peer-reviewed clinical research indexed in PubMed
- Clinical practice guidelines from professional bodies, such as the American Psychiatric Association
- US government and agency sources, including FDA labeling, MedlinePlus, CDC, NIMH, SAMHSA, and HRSA
- Standard psychiatric textbooks and reference works
Press releases, marketing materials, and unsourced content are not used as the basis for medical claims.
How claims are written
Statements are written to reflect what the evidence actually says. Where the literature is strong, the page says so. Where the evidence is mixed, limited, or applies only to a specific population, the page says that too. Educational content does not present opinion as fact and does not extend findings beyond the population studied.
Review
Educational pages on participating properties go through editorial review by a human editor and, where the content is medical, medical review by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, a board-certified psychiatrist. Where implemented, the reviewer's name and the date of review appear on the page. The medical review board page lists current reviewers.
Citations and links
Where implemented, sources are cited inline with links to the underlying study, agency page, or guideline. Links to primary sources are preferred over links to summaries.
AI assistance
AI tools may be used for drafting, organization, summarization, and grammar review. AI does not independently publish content, does not make clinical judgments, and does not replace human editorial or medical review. The AI use policy describes this in detail.
Keeping content current
Mental health evidence evolves. Pages are reviewed on a recurring schedule and when significant new evidence or guidance appears. Substantive changes are noted on the page. The corrections policy describes how factual errors are reported and fixed.
What this methodology does not do
Educational content describes general patterns in research and clinical practice. It does not diagnose any reader, does not recommend a specific treatment for an individual, and does not substitute for care from a licensed clinician. For clinical care, see shrinkMD or another licensed provider.
Contact
Questions about sourcing or methodology can be sent to support@shrinknetwork.com.