As always, your information will not be sold or shared with anyone. See our privacy policy for more information.
As always, your information will not be sold or shared with anyone. See our privacy policy for more information.
The goal of treatment for opioid dependence is to enable individuals to manage their symptoms and ultimately gain control of their dependence and their lives. Treatment for opioid dependence has three components: the physical, the psychological, and the behavioral. There are several choices for treatment—here are the main ones.
Counseling is recommended to anyone who is dependent on opioids. There are many types of counseling, including private therapy with a psychologist or psychiatrist and group counseling sessions. Working with a therapist or listening to other people who share the same concerns may help patients understand why they became dependent. Being able to recognize the situations, feelings, or events that can "trigger" the desire to misuse opioids is also helpful. Identifying these things in oneself and in one's environment can help a dependent person avoid these triggers or cope with them as they happen. Many patients find group therapy to be particularly effective for treatment of opioid dependence because it provides a support network that they would otherwise lack. Other benefits of group therapy include:
Not everyone thrives in a group-counseling situation. Sometimes a patient and doctor may decide that his/her needs would be better met with the privacy and individual attention possible in a one-on-one setting.
One-on-one counseling consists of private sessions with a psychiatrist and are recommended for patients being treated for depression, anxiety, or other mental health conditions that may be contributing to their opioid use.
Participation in a support group is recommended as something patients may want to do in addition to their regular counseling. Support groups offer many of the same benefits as group therapy except that they are generally focused more on accepting and encouraging patients in treatment (and less on abstinence strategies).
Self-help 12-step programs are very popular, and most are modeled on Alcoholics Anonymous. The idea is that people who suffer from a similar problem understand and can help one another. By coming together to share experiences at regular meetings, people who are in recovery can guide others out of addiction through a structured 12-step program. Many people have successfully used these programs to achieve drug-free lives.
A 12-step program may help the person you care about understand why he or she became dependent and provide strategies and emotional tools for changing behaviors. Just as important, this kind of program supports a group of people who understand what a dependent person is going through and can give support when needed. One-on-one private counseling can also be successfully combined with a 12-step program.
Since 1972, methadone has been the primary medicine used to help people recover from dependence on heroin or prescription pain medication. Methadone is an opioid that helps reduce cravings and withdrawal by attaching to the same brain receptors as opioids such as heroin or prescription pain medication. Therapy with methadone lowers the risk that the patient may begin abusing opioids again by suppressing withdrawal symptoms.
Methadone has helped many patients successfully manage their dependence. Patients may stay on methadone for a period of several months to a few years. Some people benefit from lifelong treatment.
Individuals being treated with methadone may need to visit a special clinic on a daily basis to receive their medication. For more information on methadone treatment programs, please visit www.aatod.org.
Sometimes patients and their doctor together decide that a hospital is the best solution for a while. Again, there are many types of hospital services for people with substance abuse problems—ranging from in-patient stays with intense medical monitoring and treatment to out-patient programs that patients can attend while living at home.
At residential treatment centers, patients leave their everyday lives for a period of time, living with other patients in a center that is set up to help them successfully enter recovery. Residential centers typically offer training, education, and intensive counseling to help patients rebuild a drug-free life. Depending on the patient's needs and the center, the hospital stay can last anywhere from a few weeks to more than a year.
