Opioid Addiction Treatment & Rehab

There are several different opioid addiction treatment options, but not all are appropriate for everyone. Depending on the severity and length of your opioid or opiate addiction, treatment options may include medical detox, inpatient rehab, outpatient rehab or a level in between, such as partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient.

If you are addicted to opioids like OxyContin or opiates like morphine, know that your substance use disorder is highly treatable. The Recovery Village offers comprehensive treatment for opioid (the umbrella term for opioids and opiates) addiction. We use numerous strategies, including medical and therapeutic interventions, to help you adjust to life without opiates. Our team at The Recovery Village comprises addiction science experts dedicated to helping you fight this disease. Our goal is always the same: to empower you to maintain a lifetime of recovery.

What Are Opioids? 

Opioids are a type of powerful painkiller and are controlled substances. As a result, when sold legally, you can only obtain opioids by prescription. While many opioids are manufactured, some occur naturally from the poppy plant: these natural opioids are called opiates and include morphine, opium and heroin.

Common opioids include:

• Oxycodone (OxyContin)
• Hydromorphone (Dilaudid)
• Hydrocodone
• Codeine
• Morphine
• Methadone
• Fentanyl
• Heroin

Signs of Opioid Addiction

When a person begins to struggle with opioids, signs often accompany the spiral into addiction. Friends, family or even the struggling person themselves may notice symptoms that can be red flags. An opioid addiction is characterized by a person showing two or more of the following symptoms:

• Taking more opioids or for a longer time than you meant to
• Having previously tried to quit opioids without success
• Spending an excessive amount of time trying to get or take opioids
• Having opioid cravings 
• Problems fulfilling roles at work, school, or home due to opioids
• Having social or interpersonal problems due to opioids
• Giving up other activities due to opioids
• Taking opioids even when it is physically dangerous
• Taking opioids even though you know taking them is harming your mental or physical health
• Needing higher doses of opioids to achieve the same effects you did at first
• Withdrawal symptoms if you try to stop taking opioids

Opiate and Opioid Addiction Treatment

Once addicted to opioids, it is extremely difficult to live a well-functioning life. More often than not, the disease of addiction ends up destroying families, careers, finances and more. However, this future doesn’t have to be yours. Effective treatment is closer than you think.

If you face opioid addiction, enrolling in a drug rehab program or starting online counseling services through the Nobu app is best. Our experienced clinical staff understands how to treat opioid addiction, and our programs can be customized to meet your specific needs.

Opiate Rehab

The rehabilitation process for opioid addiction treatment has four phases:

1. Admissions assessment: As the first step in any program, our evaluation team will conduct medical and psychiatric tests to determine the extent of your addiction and if you have any co-occurring mental health conditions. At The Recovery Village, we are particularly thorough in our admissions evaluation to ensure we understand your needs.
2. Medically assisted detoxification: This step is necessary to help the body cleanse itself of opiates or opioid drugs in your system. Because opioid detoxification is highly uncomfortable, we take great care to ensure each patient is safe and supported in our medically assisted opioid detox programs.
3. Rehabilitation: Each patient at The Recovery Village has a unique treatment plan specifically geared toward their needs. Along with tailored medical support in residential and outpatient care, our programs include a variety of therapies, including individual counseling, group therapy and recreational therapies.
4. Aftercare: Before rehab ends, our treatment team will work with you to create an aftercare plan to prevent relapse. Our aftercare planning may include scheduling doctor appointments and drug testing with your primary care physician, sessions with a counselor, attendance at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in your area and possibly arranging room and board at a sober living home. Aftercare plans help ensure the progress you made in rehab continues after going home, with a network of guidance and support in place.

Types of Opiate and Opioid Addiction Treatment

There are several different opioid addiction treatment options, but not all are appropriate for everyone. Depending on the severity and length of your opioid or opiate addiction, treatment options may include medical detox, inpatient rehab, outpatient rehab or a level in between, such as partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient.

The right type of opioid addiction treatment for you may be recommended by a medical professional such as a primary care doctor. However, the proper level of care will be determined after a thorough clinical assessment at a rehab center like The Recovery Village.

Inpatient Rehab for Opiate and Opioid Addiction

For people with severe opioid addictions, inpatient (residential) rehab may be the best option. Following medically assisted opioid detox, this intensive level of care allows patients to stay on-site at a rehab center. It includes 24-hour nursing staff monitoring, medication management (if necessary), counseling with a certified addiction therapist and more.

Inpatient (or residential) rehab is a great next step for someone who still has trouble controlling the intense cravings for opiates when left unsupervised. Residential patients can benefit from comprehensive evaluation and treatment planning, an ongoing review of these treatment goals as the program progresses and an opportunity to address challenges during treatment with the treatment planning staff.

In residential treatment, patients can learn to live without opiate or opioid drugs, developing strong coping mechanisms and recovery skills through individual and 12-step group programs. Inpatient rehab is the foundation for building a healthy future, and participating in this level of care dramatically improves patients’ chances of sobriety.

Depending on what is clinically appropriate during a patient’s stay, The Recovery Village inpatient treatment for opioid addiction may include:

• 24-hour nursing supervision
• Co-occurring disorders treatment
• Medication management, as necessary
• Nutritionally balanced meals prepared by a nutritionist
• Individual therapy with an addiction counselor
• Group or 12-step therapy that may address topics about substance abuse, grief and loss, sexuality, trauma survival, self-esteem, family patterns, assertiveness and interpersonal relationships
• Family therapy, as needed
• Alternative therapy options, such as yoga and art activities
• Aftercare and discharge planning

Inpatient rehab allows people to commit to their own well-being and good physical and mental health, relationships, finances and more. For this reason, going through a continuum of care programs, from medical detox through aftercare, is recommended. While an inpatient stay may last 28 days or longer, studies show the more time a person stays in rehab, the better their chances of recovery.

Teletherapy

With technological advances, online counseling, telehealth and teletherapy services are becoming more common and effective forms of mental health treatment. Addiction treatments were once restricted to in-person meetings but can now happen anytime and anywhere with a reliable internet connection. Learn the options and benefits of telehealth services to decide if it’s right for your recovery.

Opioid and Opiate Addiction Outpatient Rehab

Outpatient treatment for opiate addiction offers most of the same elements of inpatient rehab without living on-site. Outpatient rehab is often an ideal program for those who have already completed higher levels of care (medical detox, inpatient or partial hospitalization) and are physically and mentally stable but need assistance transitioning back to daily life.

Outpatient patients can often maintain family and job responsibilities while attending therapy in the evenings or on the weekends. People in daytime outpatient rehab can learn valuable sobriety skills while returning to school or work.

Structured outpatient treatment typically involves regular meetings with an addiction professional and includes counseling and therapy sessions. The goal of therapy during this time is to build a sense of autonomy for continued recovery. Our counselors may use motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), multidimensional family therapy and contingency management during outpatient treatment.

At The Recovery Village, outpatient treatment usually contains the following services:

• Individual counseling
• Group therapy
• Psychiatric counseling for those with anxiety, depression and other co-occurring disorders
• Nutritional counseling

Group Therapy

Therapy is important in any drug rehab program. The Recovery Village ensures each patient benefits from group therapy sessions regardless of which program they are enrolled in. These groups take a collaborative approach to counseling and may involve more than one therapist in a small circle of people.

Group therapy can be extremely useful in the opioid rehab environment because many patients face the stigma of addiction. They feel ashamed, embarrassed and have a low sense of self-worth. By sharing similar experiences, people can realize they are not alone in their feelings or experiences. The we’re-in-it-together mindset is a common thread among the group and helps promote healing.

Group members can motivate others, encourage proper communication about their experiences and learn to process their reactions to these experiences. Profound friendships are formed during group therapy because many members relate to each other during this challenging time. Topics cover a wide range of areas, including: 

• Education on addiction
• Stress management
• Coping with triggers and cravings
• Relapse management
• Forming healthy habits and relationships
• Managing medications
• Dealing with mental illness

At The Recovery Village, we have several types of group therapy sessions.

• Support groups provide mutual encouragement, feedback and a safe environment for patients to voice their frustrations and improve their communication skills.
• Psychoeducational groups teach patients about the nature of addiction and relapse. Learning the science behind addiction helps break down the fear surrounding addiction and helps people better understand their experience with addiction.
• Cognitive-behavioral groups help patients change their mindset surrounding addiction. Cognitive behavioral therapy rewires a negative mindset so patients can continue the recovery journey constructively and positively.
• Skills groups teach patients to face their triggers with sober living skills. The skills group focuses on providing new, healthy tools and strategies for dealing with challenges in life. We may also teach job-seeking and budgeting tactics to those who are unemployed.
• Experiential groups are similar to skills groups in that experiential sessions involve patients practicing the skills they’ve learned in a public setting. From dining out at restaurants to shopping, many situations are placed before patients to help them practice what they learn to reach their goal of sober living better.

Co-Occurring Disorders Treatment

Often, substance abuse is accompanied by a mental health condition or co-occurring disorder. People with an addiction and a mental health concern have a dual diagnosis. Co-occurring mental illnesses can spur an addiction or worsen an existing substance use disorder, and the two are often intertwined. In some cases, opiate addiction causes another mental illness to start. Other times, a mental illness can lead to the onset of opiate use disorder.

For example, a person may feel depressed and use opiates to experience pleasure and joy. Or, they may feel depressed about their opiate use disorder and continue using the drugs to cope. It is critical to simultaneously address substance abuse and co-occurring mental health disorders in treatment for true healing.

Some common mental illnesses that occur alongside opiate addiction include:

• Depression
• Anxiety disorders
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Bipolar disorder
• Schizophrenia
• Eating disorders
• Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

The Recovery Village is dedicated to treating each patient’s addiction fully. However, We know this is impossible without addressing mental health needs at the same time. Our treatment plans start with a thorough evaluation to determine if a person faces a co-occurring mental health disorder. From there, we can tailor a treatment plan to address a dual diagnosis.

Paying for Opiate and Opioid Rehab

Like any medical treatment, a fee is associated with drug rehab. However, this is a necessary expense as it is a life-saving measure that can help anyone facing opiate addiction get their life back on track. Opioid addiction treatment options shouldn’t have to break the bank, and many insurance companies will help lighten the financial load. Our intake coordinators at The Recovery Village are well-versed in the nuances of insurance and can help each patient understand what their plan covers.

In the instance that insurance does not cover the entire cost of rehab, there are other methods of paying for treatment, including private loans, public loans, scholarships, employee assistance programs and more. While it may seem burdensome, paying for a short time of rehab far outweighs the cost of living with addiction.

Does Insurance Cover Opiate and Opioid Addiction Treatment?

The cost of rehab programs varies from center to center. Typically, inpatient treatment costs are higher than outpatient care due to the residential component. Many people delay or avoid treatment because they fear that they can’t afford it when, in fact, it is often covered by their health insurance policy.

Our intake coordinators at The Recovery Village are experienced in coordinating with many insurance companies and will work with you one-on-one to discuss your insurance plan coverage.

Alternative Payment Options for Rehab

If you believe you can’t afford rehab and finances are an issue, state and low-income government assistance options are available. You may also consider borrowing money from a family member or taking out a personal loan to finance rehab.

If you have questions about your insurance coverage, do not hesitate to call our Recovery Advocates. Calls are free and confidential, and there is no pressure to commit to treatment. Our interest is in helping you finance rehab and get the help you need for opiate addiction.

How The Recovery Village Treats Opioid Addiction

At The Recovery Village, we take the extra steps to treat your addiction by offering a full continuum of care. From medical detox to rehab to aftercare, we are focused on supporting your recovery every step of the way. Call today and find out how we can help you towards an opioid-free life.

Editor – Theresa Valenzky

Theresa Valenzky graduated from the University of Akron with a Bachelor of Arts in News/Mass Media Communication and a certificate in psychology. She is passionate about providing genuine information to encourage and guide healing in all aspects of life. Read more

Medically Reviewed By – Dr. Jessica Pyhtila, PharmD

Dr. Jessica Pyhtila is a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist based in Baltimore, Maryland with practice sites in inpatient palliative care and outpatient primary care at the Department of Veteran Affairs. Read more