Blog Two: Treatment for Substance Use Disorder

What Does Treatment Involve for Patients with Substance Use Disorder?

Treatment options include:

🟦Outpatient counseling services that often include extensive attendance and long periods of commitment to treatment.

🟦Inpatient rehabilitation programs.

🟦Behavioral health evaluation and treatment by a healthcare professional who specializes in mental health concerns that may result in addiction.

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024)

🟦Medications:

    🔹Methadone

    🔹Buprenorphine

    🔹Naltrexone

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024)

🟦Reduce stigma surrounding substance use disorder.

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024)

🟦Carry-out harm reduction techniques, such as:

    🔹Free overdose reversal kits.

    🔹Free drug testing kits that have test strips for certain drugs that are known to be linked to high rates of overdose deaths.

    🔹Free sterile injection supplies.

    🔹Free wound care kits.

    🔹Access to transmittable disease screening.

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024)

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, April 25). Treatment of Substance Use Disorders. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/treatment/index.html