Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Track

Recovery In Tune’s Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) track provides those that have been unable to succeed and achieve long-term sobriety in abstinence-based programs a medication-assisted solution that helps reduce the chance of relapse during and after treatment.

Whether it’s through Naltrexone, Vivitrol or Suboxone, our team of professionals knows that medications are sometimes a necessary component of the treatment process. Our MAT track provides those that meet criteria for it proper medications to counter drug use and reduce cravings while maintaining strict and ethical guidelines and oversight to the way these medications are prescribed and taken, to whom they are prescribed, and for how long.

An Ethical, Evidence-Based MAT Program

In the case of Suboxone medication assistance, our MAT program is normally 1 to 6 months in length and is managed as a long-term taper from opiates for those patients who are unable to maintain their sobriety in abstinence-based programs while receiving treatment in our IOP and Outpatient levels of care. The low but reasonable doses prescribed by our facility are consistent with its purpose of being a risk-reduction and craving-reducing component of the program, rather than it being an indefinite replacement for the substances previously being taken. Clients on this MAT track are housed separately and attend clinical services separately from our abstinence-based tracks.

By the time a client reaches the maximum program length of 6 months, medication has already stopped being prescribed and dosages had throughout the months been cut so low (even skipping certain days of the week by the end) that a total cutoff of the medication is commonly not bothersome at all, allowing clients to continue their journey to sobriety and move on to a substance-free lifestyle using the tools they got during their treatment.

What is Medication-Assisted Treatment?

“Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is the use of FDA- approved medications, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, to provide a “whole-patient” approach to the treatment of substance use disorders.”

– SAMHSA

Is our MAT Program right for you or your loved one?

While no one can make this decision for you, its best to consider what Medication-Assisted Treatment is, how it works and what it offers to see if our program matches your needs. Some of the questions you can ask yourself are:

Do you have trouble maintaining your sobriety in abstinence-based treatment programs?
Do you commonly relapse upon treatment completion or while in treatment?
Do you want to be able to stay clean with the assistance of craving-reducing medications while working on your long-term goal of obtaining and maintaining long-term, total abstinence?
Are you willing to take medications as prescribed and for their sole purpose of helping you maintain your sobriety while receiving treatment?

How our MAT Track works

Our MAT track typically starts with a psychiatric evaluation to determine the need for medications and if there is a need, the proper dosage to be prescribed. The only risk-reducing medications prescribed by Recovery In Tune are Naltrexone, Vivitrol and Suboxone. Medications are dispensed by qualified staff members and our medical/nursing staff closely watches reactions to the medications for quick possible dosage adjustments or discontinuation. Medication levels are closely monitored on a continuous basis by means of urinalysis testing and dosage is decreased with time as the patient progresses through the different phases of treatment at Recovery In Tune, including:

Intensive Outpatient / IOP
Outpatient / Aftercare

As medication dosages are subtly decreased throughout the treatment stay, the body’s dependence on them slowly reduces itself until towards the end of the program a very small dosage amount dispensed every few days becomes comfortable to stop taking altogether. Once medications are stopped, aftercare / outpatient treatment continues for a few weeks in order to monitor the patient’s progress in recovery and make sure enough support is provided to ensure a successful transition to complete abstinence.