Medication Assisted Treatment

MAT = medication + behavioral therapies

MAT > Stabilization: enabling people to function without physiological symptoms of opioid use disorder, cravings, and withdrawal. Engagement, helping stabilized people focus on psychosocial aspects of their recovery—behavioral change, stabilizing and engaging people in psychosocial treatment long enough for behavioral changes to occur.

Currently, there are three medications approved by the FDA to treat opioid use disorders. See the information below:

Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, meaning it binds to those same opioid receptors but activates them less strongly than full agonists do. Like methadone, it can reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms in a person with an opioid use disorder without producing euphoria. * Common Brands: Subutex and Suboxone. They are prescribed by a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant who has received a special waiver and training and certified Opioid Treatment programs—taken as a sublingual pill or strip (daily), implant (every six months), or a monthly injection.

Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist, which means that it works by blocking the activation of opioid receptors. Instead of controlling withdrawal and cravings, it treats opioid use disorder by preventing any opioid drug from producing rewarding effects such as euphoria. * Common Brand: Vivitrol. Injected monthly in a physician’s office, certified Opioid Treatment Program, or licensed treatment program. This medication can also be administered in pill form and taken each day orally. Must be off all opioids for 7-14 days before use.