About 10.3 million Americans that are over the age of 12 misuse opioids. That equals out to about 9.9 million users addicted to prescription pain medication and another 808,000 users of heroin.
There are several different types of opioid use disorder treatments available to these people. We are going to discuss the most common ones in this post. So keep reading to learn about the different treatment options available.
Counseling and Behavioral Therapy
Attending counseling or behavioral therapy is necessary to help change the way an addict thinks about their drug use. Often the drug use is a coping mechanism for things in a person’s life. Therapy can help people change their attitudes and learned behaviors.
Over the long term, therapy will help to build healthy life habits. This gives the addict an alternative to their opioid use. It will also help them stick with their other forms of treatment.
There are three general types of counseling available, individual, group, and family. These different types of therapy address the different needs of an addict.
Individual
Individual counseling focuses on the addict by helping them set goals, deal with setbacks, and look for patterns of behavior. This therapy can help an addict identify and change negative behaviors.
This could be through building motivation and creating contingency plans. This gives someone other options besides turning to their addiction.
Group
Group counseling allows addicts to feel like they aren’t alone in their struggle. It allows addicts to get a different perspective by hearing about other people’s experiences.
Family
Family therapy is all about building a support system for the addict. Improving family relationships can strength the addict’s support system and reduce the risk of relapse.
Medication
There are a few medications that can help treat the abuse of opioids. Methadone is the most well known, but buprenorphine, suboxone, and naltrexone are also used.
Methadone, Buprenorphine, and Suboxone
Methadone, buprenorphine, and suboxone all work to reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms. The work in a similar way as other opioids in the brain, but they don’t get you high.
You can search for the best suboxone treatment center near you, and they can go into more detail about how these medications work within the body.
Naltrexone
This drug doesn’t take away the withdrawal symptoms. Instead, it takes away the high you would get from doing opioids. This drug is mainly used to help prevent a relapse.
Residential or Hospital-Based Treatment
These programs combine treatment with special housing. This lets people who are struggling with similar addictions live together and support each other through their individual recoveries.
A hospital setting can provide more extensive medical care to those who have medical conditions that may complicate their recovery. These treatments tend to be very structured and provide the highest amount of intensive treatment.
It’s Time to Seek Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
If you or someone you know is struggling with opioid abuse, then it’s time to seek treatment for your opioid use disorder treatment. By using a combination of these treatments, you too can find freedom from your addiction.
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