What is Medication-Assisted Treatment?

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) uses pharmaceutical medication alongside traditional counseling methods to treat substance abuse. Many rehabs use MAT to guarantee the successful recovery of their patients’ substance abuse disorders. This combination method continues to be widely used because it is a proven asset to patient success rates, both during and after recovery. Medications help ease the burden on an individual in treatment by reducing cravings for drugs and alleviating painful withdrawal symptoms. If you or anyone you know could benefit from a medication-assisted treatment program, please call Lotus Recovery Centers today at 833.922.1615.

What Is Medication-Assisted Treatment?

There are a few aspects of medication-assisted treatment or MAT that set it apart from other types of treatment programs. The medications used in these programs help normalize a patient’s brain chemistry, making treatment more effective and withdrawal less painful. This increases patient retention in a recovery program. It’s been proven that medication use in a drug treatment therapy setting bolsters its potential for success. Medications have also proven helpful in some cases for overdose prevention and long-term maintenance of drug addiction. MAT is a powerful combination of pharmaceutical therapy alongside behavioral therapy. Whether you need medication-assisted treatment for alcohol or drug addiction, MAT helps provide a solid framework for recovery.

The Benefits of Medication-Assisted Treatment

MAT (medication-assisted treatment) has many advantages compared to other courses of treatment to address long-term or severe substance use disorder. Some benefits of using medication in drug addiction treatment are:

Reduction in the pain and discomfort of withdrawal
Affordability
Flexibility (allows people to detox from drugs at home and continue to work and attend to the other essential responsibilities)
Reduction in cravings during treatment
Increase in patients’ involvement in their recovery
Increase in successful birth outcomes in pregnant women battling a substance abuse disorder
Reduction in rates of overdose
Reduction in the likelihood of contracting an infectious disease when battling an addiction
Increase in rates of long-term recovery and a reduction in the potential for relapses
Increase in overall survival rates among patients battling addiction and a co-occurring mental health disorder
Long-term drug addiction maintenance use, if needed after the initial recovery

There are outpatient and inpatient options available with medication-assisted treatment programs. MAT is crucial in mitigating the withdrawal dangers in the most severe cases, typically treated in an inpatient program. In inpatient MAT, medications complement behavioral and group therapies. as part of a multi-pronged approach to treatment. Medication-assisted treatment is also implemented in the looser framework of an outpatient program to bolster the patient’s potential for recovery success. The patient takes medication to ease their withdrawal symptoms and cravings while consulting with a doctor. The flexibility offered in this type of medication-assisted treatment plan can allow individuals to complete drug treatment therapy at home while attending to their other obligations and responsibilities. Some people wouldn’t consider the prospect of entering rehab for treatment if the treatment plan didn’t afford the flexibility that an outpatient MAT treatment program provides.

Choose a Reliable Medication-Assisted Treatment Program with Lotus Recovery

Medication-assisted treatment is the treatment of choice for many people struggling with drug and alcohol dependence. In Delaware and West Virginia, Lotus Recovery Centers can be the best option for you or someone you care about. Our programs have a proven track record of success and increase treatment flexibility and patient comfort. We offer a range of addiction treatment programs alongside our MAT program, such as: