Medication-Assisted Treatment Needs Community Support

Communities like Portsmouth, Ohio, regularly make national news for waves of overdoses. On any given day, nearly 100 people across the country die due to opioid overdose. The problem always feels like an uphill battle, and often a losing one for social workers and drug counselors who hope to get clients on the path to sobriety.
Evidence shows that one method, medication assisted treatment (MAT), works; however, for MAT to be truly effective, it takes an entire community.
What Is Medication Assisted Treatment?
Medication assisted treatment is an evidence-based recovery process that combines traditional therapies and detox programs with the use of medication. Medication helps patients manage cravings and provides relief from detoxification symptoms. MAT is useful for people who are addicted …