A Person-First Approach to Substance Use Treatment

The best approach to substance use treatment always addresses the whole person. Research indicates that medication, prescribed in tandem with behavioral therapy, can help prevent drug and alcohol overdose, distancing adults from potentially self-destructive behaviors.

Medication-assisted treatment helps clients gain control of their substance use challenges, through the targeted use of medication alongside behavioral health treatment. Where the independent prescription of medication or therapy for substance use habits is useful, a holistic approach to addiction therapy really does require FDA-approved medication and behavioral health services alike.

FDA-Approved Medication for Drug and Alcohol Dependence

 

In combination with counseling and behavioral therapy, medication helps clients more closely manage substance use habits. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of select medications – including buprenorphine and methadone for opioid use, and acamprosate and disulfiram for alcohol use – specifically for this purpose.

Medication prescribed for substance use practices can help:

  • Regulate brain chemistry
  • Promote mental clarity
  • Block exhilarating effects of opioids and other drugs
  • Alleviate intense cravings
  • Standardize basic body functions without substance-related consequences


Real Recovery only prescribes FDA-approved medications to clients participating in regulated medication-assisted treatment programming. We offer both monthly injectable options (Sublocade and Vivitrol) as well as daily oral medications (Suboxone and Naltrexone). Prescription frequency and dosage are monitored by licensed healthcare professionals, for the exclusive purpose of helping adults challenged with substance use issues to make a full recovery.

Counseling and Behavioral Therapy Help Prevent Overdose

Where prescribed medication can mute stimulating drug effects and stave off cravings, counseling and behavioral therapy help clients identify and pursue healthier, more productive coping strategies. These behavioral treatment modalities often include mental and vocational therapy, alongside education-based services and assessments that lay the groundwork for future change.

  • Enhance communication skills
  • Rebuild interpersonal relationships damaged by substance use habits
  • Improve emotional management
  • Achieve relief from co-occurring mental disorders
  • Identify and pursue positive, tangible future goals

Real Recovery offers proven, evidence-based counseling and behavioral therapy modalities, to help clients identify a productive path forward. Similar to the specificity of medication prescriptions, we tailor individual and group therapy modalities to each adult, to inform a purpose-driven, self-directed life.

Far From a Stigma

Real Recovery is proud to offer clinically effective, safe medication-assisted treatment, to specifically address substance use challenges. MAT is often misunderstood as the simple replacement of one substance dependence with another, rather than the replacement of a destructive habit with a productive one. In reality, this confusion is just that: a misinterpretation of MAT’s core attributes.

Medication-assisted treatment programming has been shown to:

  • Improve client survival rates
  • Increase client treatment retention
  • Heavily decrease ill-advised alcohol and drug use habits

In decreased disease contraction rates, improved pregnancy outcomes and bolstered employment probabilities among sober adults, MAT has a demonstrated history of concrete benefits. Once medication helps remove damaging substance use habits from one’s daily routine, behavioral health therapy and counseling help replace illicit behaviors with worthwhile activities.