Author: John Carter

Medication-Assisted Treatment MAT: A Holistic Approach to Opioid Recovery with SaVida Health

They’re partners in recovery, offering support, monitoring progress, and adjusting the treatment plan as needed. It’s a collaborative effort that involves not just doctors and nurses, but also counselors, social workers, and peer support specialists. This could include individual counseling, group therapy, or family therapy.

Confidentiality of MAT and Treatment

These can range from mild issues like nausea and headaches to more serious concerns like liver problems or respiratory depression. That’s why it’s crucial for MAT to be administered under close medical supervision. Regular check-ins, drug testing, and adjustments to the treatment plan ensure that the individual stays on track and receives the support they need throughout their recovery journey. But what exactly is MAT therapy, and why has it become such a game-changer in addiction treatment? Let’s dive in and unravel the intricacies of this groundbreaking approach.

Turn-taking by the therapist and the co-therapist

These medications are used to manage dependence and addiction to short-acting opioids such as heroin, morphine, and codeine, as well as semi-synthetic opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone. Often, physicians may hesitate to provide MAT services because they have many competing priorities and lack adequate support to manage these patients. However, with the OBOT-B Collaborative Care Model, NCMs take on the responsibilities of complex care management while communicating with the physician primarily through documentation in the electronic medical record and regular team meetings. This approach benefits patients as well because NCMs are more accessible than physicians, so they can quickly address patient issues and concerns.

What Is Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)?

In the field of public health, group psychotherapy is a useful clinical practice for adolescents with varying mental health issues (Reid and Kolvin, 1993; Cramer-Azima, 2002). Adolescent mental health disorders have increased over the last three decades (Nuffield Foundation, 2013) and today’s teenagers have higher rates of anxiety, behavioral problems, and mood disorders (Merikangas et al., 2010). Perhaps the biggest challenge facing MAT, however, isn’t medical – it’s social. Despite its proven efficacy, MAT still faces significant stigma and misconceptions. Some people, including some in the recovery community, view MAT as simply “substituting one drug for another.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, they help restore normal brain function, allowing individuals to focus on the psychological and behavioral aspects of their recovery.

No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. The ORN is a technical assistance collaboration between the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry and Columbia University. Funded by SAMHSA, the ORN has local consultants in all 50 states and 9 U.S. territories to provide communities with free technical assistance and education on the prevention and treatment of OUD. MOUD can help people living with OUD prevent overdose, achieve abstinence and “feel normal” again. American Addiction Centers (AAC) is committed to delivering original, truthful, accurate, unbiased, and medically current information. We strive to create content that is clear, concise, and easy to understand.

Relationship between the therapist and DYN and MNT interventions

The duration of MAT can vary widely depending on the individual’s needs. The key is to tailor the treatment to the individual, not the other way around. Like any medical treatment, MAT comes with its own set of benefits and challenges. Let’s pull back the curtain and take an honest look at both sides of the coin. Whatever situation you find yourself in—even if you live in a rural area and don’t think there are any resources available where you live, you can access help to recover and go on with your life.

Because OUD is a chronic condition, some patients may need to continue use of the medication indefinitely. For instance, young people almost certainly need family therapy and peer support while adults may need housing and educational support to successfully transition back into the workforce. According to the SAMHSA, MAT is “clinically effective” and significantly reduces the need for inpatient detoxification. Such therapies, when combined with medications, also help prevent overdose. The medications used in MAT don’t cure opiate dependence but help people abstain from the substance.—some block withdrawal symptoms, while others block euphoria.

Introduction to Medication-Assisted Treatment

  1. The Playbook is a step-by-step guide for care teams to implement MAT for OUD.
  2. Each target behavior analysis thus can be located in one of the four quadrants depending on the combination of negative/positive signs (Table 3).
  3. Practices with no access to internal behavioral health services may need to leverage local providers and community-based organizations for patients as needed.
  4. MAT treatment must include a counseling component to give the patient a good chance to achieve life-long recovery.

However, although ample evidence supports the success and efficacy of MAT, there are still gaps in the scientific literature that need to be addressed. MAT isn’t approved or recommended for treating all types of addiction. It doesn’t prevent withdrawal symptoms immediately after you stop drinking. It’s prescribed five days after abstinence begins and is fully effective in another five to eight days. They also effectively manage alcohol and drug use linked to mental illness.

Medications do not only “assist” treatment; medications are a core component of treatment. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved three medications that safely and effectively treat opioid use disorder (OUD) to improve the health and wellbeing of people living with OUD. MAT is defined by on-going, long-term treatment with one of these three medications. We’re talking about a deep dive into the individual’s medical history, substance use patterns, mental health status, and social circumstances. Based on this assessment, a team of healthcare professionals develops an individualized treatment plan.

Goals for Medication Assisted Substance Abuse Treatment

Click here to read more about SMART’s approach to medication addiction. In addition to building knowledge and skills, participation in an ECHO program can decrease feelings of professional isolation, which often plague rural providers. While some providers may not be ready to fully implement MAT, many other strategies can be used to help those with or at risk for an OUD. All treatment calls are accepted by drug and alcohol centers advertising with the Call Affiliate LLC network. A person can prevent relapse by staying away from triggers, for example, by avoiding former drug-use hangouts and staying away from friends who use drugs.