Medication Assisted Treatment in New Jersey

Addiction (substance use disorder) presents a decades-long crisis in the United States, and its abundance in New Jersey is hard to ignore. According to Mental Health Stats, around 8.7% of NJ adults have struggled with an SUD in the year leading up to this study.

This figure is higher than the national average of 7.4%. What’s even more concerning is that, at the time of the survey, 65% of New Jerseyans with addiction didn’t receive treatment. If it goes untreated, addiction could cause serious mental and physical harm.

All of this begs the question: Is there a reliable facility that utilizes medication-assisted treatment in New Jersey, where you can safely undergo detox, therapy, and aftercare?

Thankfully, the state is brimming with facilities offering solid MAT programs, including the Garden State Treatment Center.

Addiction: A Quick Overview

Substance use disorder is a serious issue that requires immediate intervention. More importantly, and even if a huge percentage of the population still thinks otherwise, addiction is a mental health problem and isn’t an indicator of weakness of will.

When someone is addicted to a substance (opioids, alcohol, heroin, meth, etc.), they’re unable to give it up after having developed a dependence on it.

They also can’t control the quantities they use, gradually increasing them to experience higher euphoric or calming effects (depending on what substance they’re taking). Even when the harm to their physical health, mental well-being, and lifestyle is tangible, they can’t quit on their own.

Treatment centers come in handy in this case. They provide a safe and controlled environment where patients undergo detox until their bodies are completely free from addictive substances.

Under the supervision of a highly trained medical team, individuals then receive treatment, including MAT. Afterward, they go through aftercare, which teaches coping mechanisms and strategies for long-term sobriety.

Signs That Someone Has a Substance Use Disorder

Not sure if it’s time to seek professional help? You can read about some of the symptoms of addiction to decide your next course of action:

• Having withdrawal symptoms when trying to stop using the drug
• Spending a significant amount of time obtaining, consuming, or recovering from the effects of the substance
• Neglecting work duties or other responsibilities because of drugs
• Spending enormous amounts of money to get the drug
• Being aware of the harmful impact this drug has on relationships but being unable to quit
• Taking drugs in potentially dangerous situations, like driving
• Constantly needing more of the addictive substance to get the same effects

When specialists diagnose a patient with SUD, they’ll ask about this person’s behaviors in the last 12 months. The number of symptoms they’ve displayed (out of a total of 11) determines if they have an SUD and how severe it is.

Medication-Assisted Treatment: Definition and How It Works

Medication-assisted treatment refers to a holistic approach effective for treating addiction, especially alcohol and opioid addiction. MAT depends on pairing FDA-approved (Food and Drug Administration) medications that help patients control cravings and manage withdrawals with evidence-based behavioral health therapy.

This treatment program tackles every aspect of a person’s addiction: physical, mental, and psychological. It’s a well-rounded strategy that aims to restore the brain’s normal functions after being impaired by prolonged drug abuse.

How Medication-Assisted Treatment Works

Once admitted into a treatment facility, people who suffer from addiction first go through an initial assessment phase for a full understanding of their condition. Based on their findings, specialists determine the right medications to use in MAT moving forward.

After that, patients go through the detoxification phase (mostly medical detox), where their cravings and withdrawal symptoms are managed using FDA-recommended drugs.

When safely completed, they may be required to receive outpatient or inpatient rehabilitative treatment to safely deal with their addiction and learn how to live a drug-free life.

Across all these stages, both counseling and pharmacological efforts go hand in hand to steer patients through these challenging times. Once rehab is over, doctors will likely recommend medical maintenance treatment for long-term SUD management.

What Are the Benefits of Medication-Assisted Treatment?

As an essential component of a well-tailored program, medication-assisted treatment has some scientifically proven benefits for people seeking recovery from addiction. Some of these advantages involve:

• Higher patient survival rates
• Lower overdose death rates
• Better social functioning during treatment
• Increased treatment program retention, which is important for long-term recovery
• Decrease in illegal, violent, or criminal activities

What Are the Medications Used in MAT?

Depending on the stage of addiction, its severity, and the substance being used, healthcare providers will design an MAT plan based on each patient’s needs. Similarly, they’ll decide the dosage, frequency, and type of medications to be used across the entire treatment process:

Methadone

Methadone is used to treat people with an opioid addiction, as it helps them control their urges and cravings throughout the detox phase. It also restores the body’s metabolic and hormonal functions to their normal levels, which were previously affected by the use of opioids.

What’s more, Methadone is formulated to produce an undesirable sensation when taking opioids, significantly reducing their euphoric impact.

It only has some mild side effects that usually go away as the body gets used to the prescribed dosage. Methadone poses no harm to the heart, lungs, or any other organs in the human body, making it a completely safe drug to administer in medication-assisted treatment.

Being harmless in the long term also means it’s ideal as a maintenance treatment option.

Methadone is available in the form of tablets (Dolophine) and an oral concentrate (Methadose).

Buprenorphine

Just like Methadone, Buprenorphine is an FDA-approved medication used in MAT for opioid addiction cases. However, because it’s a partial opioid agonist, Buprenorphine works better for people with mild OUDs (opioid use disorders).

It operates by targeting and activating the opioid receptors in the brain, but in a much more limited manner than a full opioid agonist (like Methadone). As a result, it does a great job of controlling the drastic highs and lows of using opioids (in less advanced cases of addiction).

Buprenorphine products tested and authorized by the FDA either contain Buprenorphine on its own or combined with Naloxone:

• Bunavail (buccal film)
• Probuphine (subdermal implant)
• Zubsolv (sublingual tablet)
• Sublocade (injection)
• Suboxone (sublingual film for sublingual or buccal use, or sublingual tablet)
• Subutex (sublingual tablet)
• Cassipa (sublingual film)

Naltrexone

Naltrexone works for both alcohol and opioid addiction, and its main function is to counter the desirable sensation associated with taking these two substances.

While it’s efficient in limiting cravings, it doesn’t relieve withdrawal symptoms, so it’s often used in the later stages of addiction treatment. Thankfully, its effects last for weeks, and when paired with a solid counseling strategy in MAT, Naltrexone produces watertight results.

An FDA-approved Naltrexone product is Vivitrol, which is an intramuscular extended-release injectable suspension.

What Evidence-Based Therapies Are Used in MAT?

Throughout a substance use disorder patient’s healing journey, the above medications are accompanied by specialized therapies in the rehab phase. Mild, moderate, or severe cases of addiction each call for a well-measured mix of both counseling and medications.

If you’re about to undergo addiction treatment therapy, you’ll likely experience one or more of these counseling options at a treatment facility like Garden State:

• Individual therapy: One-on-one sessions that break down a patient’s behaviors, emotions, and mindset regarding their addiction, then help them develop coping strategies to prepare for drug-free living
• Group sessions: Group therapy conducted by a healthcare professional, fostering a sense of inclusion, support, and shared experience
• Family therapy: Educational sessions that ensure families of affected people are well-informed about their condition, how to offer support, and more
• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): Important for recognizing problematic thinking patterns that lead to addictive behavior and how to counter them
• Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT): A form of evidence-based therapy that focuses on the link between strong emotions and their impact on a person’s addiction-related habits
• Motivational interviewing (MI): A well-regarded, empathetic counseling approach centered around discovering internal motivation in individuals to change a harmful behavior

What Addiction Treatment Programs Involve MAT?

Medication-assisted treatment in New Jersey is accessible across different levels of care, based on each patient’s physical and psychological needs.

Depending on the severity of the addiction, the substance used, and any co-occurring disorders that need to be simultaneously treated, specialists at Garden State will formulate a suitable treatment plan.

The levels of care available are:

Partial Care Program

In partial hospitalization, rehab takes a middle ground between intensive outpatient care and a full residential program. Patients stay in a hospital-like setting, where they go through addiction treatment under the supervision of the medical staff.

PHPs still allow patients to continue living at home after completing around six to eight hours of therapy daily, but the exact duration depends entirely on the condition at hand.

Intensive Outpatient Program

An intensive outpatient program is designed for less severe cases, such as in moderate levels of addiction. Here, patients receive care in a treatment facility, aiming for nine to 19 hours of therapy per week.

IOPs are ideal for people who have daily obligations that they can’t leave behind for a full rehab stay. They might have limited or zero access to childcare or could be bound by work-related duties.

Evening IOP

Evening IOP is the same as a normal intensive outpatient program regarding the hours required to complete it and the level of care. Only it takes place at night to allow patients to fulfill their duties in the mornings, like work, school, etc.

Outpatient Rehab Program

Lastly, an outpatient rehab program is the least intensive option, allowing individuals with mild levels of addiction more freedom. It’s usually made up of around nine hours of treatment on a weekly basis.

It’s also the preferred choice for patients moving down from full residential care or an IOP program.

Wrapping Up: Find Medication-Assisted Treatment in New Jersey Today

MAT is an integral element of every addiction treatment plan, paving a road to recovery by combining evidence-based counseling techniques and FDA-approved medications.

Medicines like Naltrexone, Buprenorphine, and Methadone help with cravings or withdrawal symptoms. On the other hand, therapies (like CBT and DBT) work on correcting patients’ harmful thinking patterns, behaviors, and emotions.

Garden State Treatment Center offers medication-assisted treatment in New Jersey for individuals struggling with substance use disorder. Contact the facility now and learn more about treatment plans, levels of care, the available specialized therapy options, and more.