Medication-Assisted Treatment

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What Is Medication-Assisted Treatment? (MAT)

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is a specialized form of addiction treatment that combines medication and therapy. It has proved to be an effective form of care for people who have alcohol use disorder (alcoholism) and opioid use disorder (a category that includes addictions to heroin, morphine, fentanyl, and the active ingredients in many prescription painkillers).

How Does Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Work?

Medication-assisted treatment works by addressing the biological, psychological, behavioral, and social aspects of addiction and recovery. The prescription medications that are used in MAT can help you stop using alcohol or opioids without experiencing the powerful cravings and other distressing withdrawal symptoms that would otherwise quickly occur. 

The therapeutic component of medication-assisted treatment can help you learn more about the disease of addiction and the process of recovery, begin to repair the damage that you incurred as the result of your compulsive substance use, and start to build a framework for a healthy drug-free future.

Medication-Assisted Treatment For Alcohol 

Patients who take part in MAT programs for alcohol addiction typically receive one of the following three medications:

• Acamprosate – Marketed under the brand name Campral, acamprosate +can suppress alcohol cravings after a person has completed withdrawal. This can be quite valuable for someone who is in early recovery and needs additional help to effectively manage their urges and cravings. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Acamprosate has “no potential for misuse and has been found to have no clinically significant drug interactions.”
• Disulfiram – Disulfiram doesn’t alleviate cravings, but it can motivate people to resist their urges by triggering several unpleasant reactions if they drink. SAMHSA reports that disulfiram disrupts the body’s efforts to metabolize alcohol. This disruption causes effects such as confusion, headache, excessive perspiration, heart palpitations, nausea, and vomiting. If someone uses alcohol while they have disulfiram in their system, these types of symptoms may occur within 10 minutes of their first drink and persist for up to two hours.
• Naltrexone – Naltrexone interacts with receptors in the central nervous system that release endorphins when a person drinks. Endorphins are hormones that are associated with feelings such as reward and pleasure. By preventing the body from releasing these hormones in response to alcohol, naltrexone takes away the pleasurable sensations that people experience when they’re drinking. The medication can also reduce cravings and comes in a long-lasting injectable form called Vivitrol.

Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioids 

For people who are taking part in medication-assisted treatment for addictions to heroin, prescription painkillers, or other opioids, commonly prescribed meds include:

• Methadone – Methadone binds to the same receptors in the central nervous system that opioids do. However, it doesn’t cause the same level of disorienting effects that you would experience if you use opioids. This means that, when you use methadone appropriately, you can end your opioid use without developing intense withdrawal symptoms. 
• Buprenorphine – Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist. It functions similarly to methadone, but it has what clinicians refer to as a “ceiling effect,” so it is less likely to be abused. Buprenorphine may be used alone or in combination with naloxone, which blocks the effects of opioids and can reverse overdose. This buprenorphine-naloxone combination is marketed under the brand name Suboxone. 
• Naltrexone – In addition to blocking the effects of alcohol, naltrexone is also an opioid antagonist. This means that it binds to opioid receptors without causing any opioid-like effects. It also prevents a person from getting high if they use opioids while they are taking it. Unlike methadone and buprenorphine, which must be taken daily, naltrexone is also available in monthly injectable form under the brand name Vivitrol.

Recommended: Opioid Withdrawal Medications

How Do I Know if I’m a Candidate for Medication-Assisted Treatment?

At Time Wellness Detox, we make all admissions decisions on an individual basis, following a thorough review of each potential patient’s history and needs.

In general, though, our medication-assisted treatment program is designed to help people who meet the following criteria:

• Adults ages 18 and above
• Have developed an addiction to alcohol or opioids
• Have a desire to end their compulsive substance use
• Will follow all guidance regarding medication use
• Are willing to fully engage in therapy

The best way to know if you’re a good candidate for medication-assisted treatment is to schedule a free assessment at our center. This evaluation can help us determine if MAT or another type of treatment will best prepare you for successful, long-term recovery.

How Effective Is MAT?

Multiple studies have documented the effectiveness of medication-assisted treatment among a variety of patient populations, including:

• A November 2016 fact sheet from the Pew Charitable Trusts reported that MAT is “the most effective intervention to treat opioid use disorder … and is more effective than either behavioral interventions or medication alone.”
• A January 2019 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry credited medication-assisted treatment for “significant improvements in clinical outcomes” within a population of 5,743 adults who had both a serious mental illness and a co-occurring addiction to alcohol.
• An April 2019 meta-analysis and systematic review in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment found that MAT programs in prisons led to “increased community-based substance use treatment engagement, and in the case of methadone, decreased illicit opioid use and injection drug use post-release.”
• According to a January 2022 study in the journal Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, patients in rural Colorado who received six months of MAT services for heroin addiction exhibited “decreased substance use, improved physical and mental health, and reduced symptoms.”

Benefits of Medication-Assisted Treatment

The specific benefits that you receive from MAT will depend on your reasons for entering the program, the ways that your life has been impacted by compulsive substance use, and your immediate and long-term treatment goals. 

Generally speaking, though, the many potential benefits of medication-assisted treatment include:

• Being able to quit using alcohol or opioids without risking your health or enduring painful withdrawal symptoms
• Participating in therapy without being compromised by lingering physical and psychological effects in the aftermath of withdrawal
• Understanding the issues and concerns that may have contributed to, or been worsened by, your struggles with compulsive substance use
• Identifying your triggers, which are circumstances that could threaten to undermine your recovery
• Developing strategies for avoiding triggers or responding to them in a healthy manner, without relapsing
• Finding productive ways to fill the hours that you previously devoted to acquiring, using, and recovering from the effects of alcohol or opioids
• Learning to set and maintain appropriate boundaries, advocate for your own needs, and sustain healthy relationships
• Discovering the power of sharing support with other members of the recovery community
• Connecting with peer-led groups and other community-based resources that can support your continued recovery after you transition out of treatment