Medication Assisted Treatment Services
Foundations Health provides medication assisted treatment for people with substance use disorders that, when combined with traditional therapy methods and medication assisted treatment, can help encourage sobriety, prevent relapse and lead to a life in recovery.
What is Medication Assisted Treatment?
Medication Assisted Treatment, or MAT, is the combined use of medications, treatment and counseling services to combat substance use disorder, specifically when it comes to opioid treatment.
The three, FDA-approved medications that may be used for opioid dependence are:
- Buprenorphine
- Methadone
- Naltrexone
How Can Medication Assisted Treatment Help Addiction?
MAT helps opioid use disorder in three main ways:
- Medically Managed Withdrawal Symptoms: Withdrawal symptoms which can be a barrier to treatment, can be reduced, even eliminated.
- Reduce Cravings: Cravings are a major issue during early recovery. MAT can help reduce those cravings.
- Prevent Relapse: The overall goal of treatment is to help people move forward after their addictions without relapsing. MAT can help with relapse prevention when combined with other treatment methods.
Common Myths About Medication Assisted Treatment
Despite being recommended by the leading government-funded addiction treatment experts, MAT is still not widely used at many addiction treatment centers. But why? The stigma and myths surrounding this treatment method are wide-spread.
The most common myth about medication assisted treatment and medication assisted treatment is that those who participate are just using one drug instead of another. Research shows that, when combined with traditional therapy methods, outpatient opioid treatment and medication assisted treatment can have better results than just traditional methods, allowing sustained recovery after MAT and counseling services.
Another common myth is that MAT can increase the chances of an overdose and make recovery harder. Neither of these have merit in any research, as getting treatment lowers the risk of overdose and relapse.
Most importantly, however, is that researchers and medical professionals alike are calling for wider-spread use of MAT programs as an option for those who may need opioid treatment. Most major, empirical evidence-based addiction treatment research groups, such as SAMHSA, the CDC and NIDA, all recommend MAT programs as the best treatment method for recovery.
Opioid Use Disorder Treatment That Can Make a Difference
Foundations Health provides a variety of mental health and substance use treatment, including an MAT program for outpatient opioid treatment.
If you or a loved one is struggling with an addiction to opioids, Foundations Health may be the right program for you. Call us today at 336-899-8889 to get started and start your journey to a life in recovery, today.
