Medication Assisted Treatment or Pharmacotherapy as it’s sometimes called, is a form of treatment for substance abuse addiction and mental illness that incorporates a pharmacological component. When combined with complementary psychotherapies, treatment for substance abuse has shown to be much more effective than with only one or the other used alone.
Research indicates when treating alcohol use disorders, a combination of medication and behavioral therapies is most successful. Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) is clinically driven with a focus on individualized patient care. Medication Assisted Treatment or Therapy is the use of medications, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, to provide a whole-patient approach to the treatment of substance use disorders, usually related to opioid and heroin addiction.
What is Pharmacotherapy?
Pharmacotherapy is a new advancement in addiction treatment science that is offering promising results in treating drug and alcohol addiction. While the practice of pharmacotherapy is not new, the understanding of brain chemistry and how behavior is affected by chemical stimuli continues to advance. Many scientists and treatment specialists are optimistic that pharmacotherapy can be an effective treatment option, especially when used in larger, more comprehensive treatment programs.
The practice of Pharmacotherapy is defined as the treatment of disease through the administration of highly advanced prescription drugs. Pharmacotherapy can be used to treat a wide variety of physical and mental health illnesses including schizophrenia, panic disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, as well as many different infectious diseases.
However, in recent years scientists have discovered that pharmacotherapy can be very effective at treating drug and alcohol addiction, while helping patients to reduce cravings during early recovery periods. This form of pharmacotherapy is often known as Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) and refers to any treatment for a substance abuse disorder that includes pharmacological intervention as part of a larger comprehensive substance abuse treatment plan.
Pharmacotherapy Drugs for Substance Abuse
Treatment specialists have a number of different drugs available to them that can be very effective at reducing cravings and treating various substance abuse disorders. These can include Naltrexone, Acamprosate, and Campral, which are all powerful and effective drugs for treating alcohol dependence and withdrawal. Naltrexone for instance, is an antagonist that blocks receptors believed to interact with alcohol and pleasure centers in the brain.
Pharmacotherapy is also very effective at treating opiate disorders and helping to prevent relapse after opiate detox. Medications used for treating opioid dependence include Methadone, Buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone, Subutex, and Naltrexone.
Pharmacotherapy for Rehab Center
Pharmacotherapy is used in drug treatment settings in a number of different ways. It may be used to help relieve cravings and withdrawal symptoms of alcohol or opiate related addictions, or may be used to help prevent relapse over the long-term.
Doctors using pharmacotherapy methods rely heavily on producing tightly controlled drug treatments, ensuring that dosages are safe and consistent. However, it is important to remember that these powerful and effective drug treatment medications are best used in conjunction with a comprehensive behavioral and cognitive treatment program.
Medications to Treat Alcohol Addiction
Heroin and opioid addiction has become an epidemic in the United States, with overdose deaths rivaling that of automobile accidents and other diseases. These drugs are so addictive that it sometimes makes standard treatment alone difficult to be successful.
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