One of the most significant breakthroughs in treating certain substance use disorders has been learning how to employ specific medications to curb or even eliminate cravings and help people in recovery avoid relapse. When combined with other therapies, this method is known as medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and can be used for both opioid and alcohol addictions. MAT has been around for about 50 years, and in that time, several medications have been found effective, such as naloxone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone. If you might benefit from a medication-assisted treatment program, learn more about how Mile High Recovery Center can help.
Mile High Recovery Center offers evidence-based treatments for opioid and alcohol use disorders in conjunction with medication to help you achieve lasting sobriety. Find out more about our MAT program and how it can help you. Reach out to speak to one of our staff by calling 303-268-2144 or using our online form.
What Is MAT?
The medications used in medication-assisted treatment help your brain return to its normal chemistry so that your own production of neurotransmitters can resume. Alcohol and opioid abuse disrupt production by flooding the brain and interrupting the feedback loop that balances emotions and allows for feelings of pleasure, bonding, and motivation.
MAT also interrupts the intense psychological cravings that can last for years after detox. Because your brain can manage feelings, enjoy pleasure, and feel satisfaction, your desire for the drug or alcohol is muted.
The drugs used nowadays in medication-assisted therapy are such that long-term use is completely safe. Though some can ease off the treatment after a few years, others remain committed to the therapy to maintain their sobriety and wellness.
Medication-Assisted Treatment – The Basics
Mile High Recovery Center’s program with medication-assisted treatment commonly uses two medications:
- Suboxone (naloxone, buprenorphine) – This medication inhibits the effects of opioids and mutes cravings. It can be delivered in a dissolving pill or film, a monthly injection, or a subdermal implant that lasts six months.
- Vivitrol (naltrexone) – This drug gets in the way of the opioid or alcohol high, so users feel little or nothing if they relapse. Naltrexone can be administered as a daily pill or monthly injection.
Benefits of a MAT Program
MAT is considered more effective than either medication or therapies alone. When this patient-centered care protocol is used in addiction treatment, recovery outcomes are improved. Currently, it is only approved for use with alcohol and opioid addictions, but in the future, more substance use disorders may be treatable with medication-assisted treatment.
Currently, about 1.25 million Americans are enrolled in a MAT program. Addiction specialists and researchers highlight the following benefits of MAT:
- Individualizes treatment for each client based on a whole-person approach
- Blocks the euphoria of the drug and prevents any high
- Resets brain chemistry
- Reduces or eliminates cravings
- Reduces the risk of relapse and overdose
- Saves lives
Medication-Assisted Treatment Program at Mile High Recovery Center
What is MAT? It may well be what gets you from addiction to liberation, despair to hope, and dis-ease to wellness at Mile High Recovery Center.
As part of a treatment protocol designed just for you, MAT joins other evidence-based therapies to provide you with top-notch care. Some of the therapies that are part of a medication-assisted treatment program at Mile High are:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
- Motivational enhancement therapy (MET)
- Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
- Group therapy
- Family therapy
- Equine therapy
- 12-step program
Find out more today about how a MAT program can help you. Reach out by dialing 303-268-2144 or submitting our online form. We look forward to hearing from you.