Pharmacotherapy for Alcohol Use Disorders and Mental Illness

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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.

For More Information about Pharmacotherapy or Medication Assisted Treatment, Call Us Oak Forest Recovery specialists at 1-888-597-6257, or submit the form below.

Source:

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2015/137020/
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Hybrid Addiction Treatment Program

Oak Forest Recovery offers a unique hybrid addiction recovery program. The term “hybrid” is defined as something created by combining two different elements. In the field of addiction and mental health treatment, hybrid shows up in several different places. A dual diagnosis or co-occurring disorder is a condition where a person exhibits both a mental illness and addiction to drugs or alcohol at the same time. 

Treatment for a psychological illness or addiction can be in the form of psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy. Using one or the other can result in a successful outcome, but evidence has shown that when both are used together, the outcomes are even better.

Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), or Pharmacotherapy

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.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Pharmacotherapy is effective for improving the health of substance abusers in many ways when used in a comprehensive plan including:

  • Increased treatment retention
  • Decreased opiate use
  • Improved birth outcomes
  • Decreased criminal activities
  • Improved survival

At Oak Forest Recovery, we call the synergistic combination of psychotherapy with pharmacotherapeutics a Hybrid Treatment Model because it merges two different forms of treatment into one comprehensive plan with increased success. Of course, each person has a unique set of circumstances and underlying issues that require an individualized treatment plan. Some respond well to psychotherapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral, or Motivational Enhancement Therapy, and several others. 

Our multidimensional Hybrid approach successfully treats not only alcohol and substance abuse, but also any co-occurring disorders such as depression, bipolar, anxiety, OCD and PTSD. If you would like to know more about our hybrid addiction recovery program, please give us a call today at 1-888-597-6257 or submit the form below.

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