Counseling and support services are an integral part of the treatment process. Recovery from opioid addiction involves education on the addictive process and the development of skills that support lifestyle change.

Medication assistance is key in managing opioid withdrawal sickness, but counseling offers the opportunity to learn valuable skills like identifying common high risk triggers for relapse and methods for reducing that risk.

Addiction is a complex illness. Many patients who achieve early stability with methadone or suboxone will relax their commitment to treatment. They let their guard down and begin to take shortcuts. This is a frequent issue in treatment clinics that often leads to relapse.

Sustained recovery from addiction requires a full commitment to change. Individual counseling and group counseling provide the necessary roadmap for staying on the recovery path. Counseling allows patients to achieve a deeper understanding of the challenges they will face as they learn to live drug free.

Opioid addiction can seriously impact a person’s life in many areas, and climbing out of that hole is not easy. Making the correct recovery-based decisions can at times be confusing, and even feel overwhelming. This is where the value of support & input from a counselor, stable friends, and concerned others can make a real difference.

Most MAT clinics and physician practices across the U.S. provide counseling as a component of their opioid treatment program. Participate in these services. These sessions with a therapist or in a counseling group can greatly enhance your ability to stay on course, and ride out the difficult days that you will certainly encounter. There is no replacement for commitment and positive action. These are the foundation of success when true recovery is the goal.

Several articles recently addressed a study which found that providing buprenorphine after an overdose significantly increased the likelihood of individuals accessing opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment.

The current protocol for paramedics and emergency departments in treating opioid overdose is to administer naloxone in order to reverse the effects of overdose. A recently published study showed that also providing buprenorphine immediately afterward reduced withdrawal discomfort and increased outpatient addiction follow-up care.

A separate article referenced data showing a nearly six-fold increase in patients accessing outpatient addiction treatment within 30 days of the overdose event.

These are highly encouraging finds which demonstrate the far-reaching effectiveness of medication-assistance in the treatment of opioid addiction. Saving a life through overdose reversal is obviously a critical benefit, but increasing motivation for follow-up treatment is a huge step in helping addicted individuals plug into a long-term solution.

Structured treatment which utilizes medication-assistance provides so much to those aspiring to face their addiction challenges. Naloxone, buprenorphine, and methadone have saved countless lives, and these medications have provided an unrivaled opportunity for those in opioid addiction to plot a new path in life.