No opioid addiction treatment plan succeeds alone. It is always a team effort.

The opioid addict cannot be trusted to do it on their own. It will fail. A team approach must be developed and coordinated.

Once a client with opioid addiction has been assessed, a treatment plan is developed. The clinician will then discuss with the client the recommended opioid addiction treatment plan. Every treatment plan is customized for that client.

Research has shown that opioid treatment plans succeed when there is a “team approach.” *** Treatment goals and schedules are discussed, medications are explained and a counseling plan is coordinated.

The client has several basic responsibilities:

  1. Keep all appointments.
  2. Take the prescribed medications.
  3. Use only the drugs prescribed.
  4. Agree to drug testing on a regular basis.
  5. Allow trusted family, friends, and colleagues to be involved as part of an accountability team.
  6. Stay away from all persons who may cause the patient to return to drug addiction.

Once the client has agreed to their opioid treatment responsibilities, the case manager then recruits a team around them. An opioid addiction treatment team may include the following:

  1. Narcotics Anonymous sponsor: Their treatment plan may compel them to join NA. A sponsor may take them to the homegroup meeting. The client who attends on a regular basis establishes a recovery network and a reliable routine. They participate in the group’s business and decide how the group’s meetings should be conducted.
  2. Drug counseling: This is crucial for the client to understand the nature of their addiction, recognize the stimulus that is part of their addictive behavior, and create coping mechanisms to resist addiction. The treatment plan may have both group therapy and individual therapy.
  3. Family, friends, and colleagues support system: The client’s motivation to succeed in opioid drug addiction therapy often comes from outside of themselves. Family members and trusted friends may function as “partners” in their therapy. They can motivate the client to attend meetings, channel their addiction into positive activity, and confirm that the client is adhering to the treatment plan. They may also provide a “wall” against outside negative forces (i.e. drug dealers, drug-addicted friends, bad influencers, etc.).

Opioid addiction treatment will succeed when there is coordination among the physicians, counselors, 12-step program leaders, family, friends, and colleagues working together as a team. The client has a dependable and trustworthy group that cares about them and is willing to be with them at every step of the recovery journey.

If you or someone you know needs methadone treatment, consult one of our experienced counselors. The Concerted Care Group of Central Baltimore, MD, and Brooklyn, MD, has a compassionate methadone maintenance treatment team that includes therapists, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, a nurse practitioner, and a psychiatrist. Services include individual and family therapy for adults and adolescents. Group therapy and psychiatric services are available for adults.

Contact us at (833) CCG-LIVE to make an appointment.

*** Team approaches to drug addiction can be found at the National Center for Biotechnology website.