Finding an Inpatient Methadone Treatment Center

Author: Emily Oconnor

Whether it’s just a trend or a growing epidemic, opiate abuse rates have continued to climb over the past 10 years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 12 million Americans admitted to using prescription pain medications for recreational purposes in 2010. As harmless as doctors’ prescription may seem, recreational opiate use – whether with prescription pills or heroin – can quickly turn into an addiction.

Treating an opiate addiction is no easy-breezy affair as the damage caused to the body often takes time to heal. For many recovering addicts, inpatient methadone treatment programs are the first step towards breaking an opiate addiction. When considering the various programs available for inpatient methadone treatment care, finding the program that best meets a person’s needs offers the best chance of a successful recovery process.

Opiate Addiction Treatment

Making sure that the care offered at the treatment center of your choice is what you need is essential to recovery.

By the time a person becomes addicted to opiates, he or she has entered into a lifestyle where getting drugs and doing drugs takes priority over everything else. Opiates change how the brain works, how the mind thinks and how the body functions. At this point, opiate effects control both the body and the mind, driving the psychological and physical need for more of the drug.

Methadone, a synthetic opiate-based medication, has a proven track-record when it comes to treating opiate addictions. Its use within inpatient methadone treatment centers enables recovering addicts to find relief from persistent drug cravings and withdrawal effects. Inpatient methadone treatment centers treat the physical components of addiction first so recovering addicts can focus on working through the life issues that drive their addiction.

Inpatient Treatment Care

As no two people will face the same problems when fighting opiate addiction, it’s especially important to find the type of inpatient methadone treatment program that best addresses the issues a person faces. While most programs follow a standard drug treatment protocol, many specialize in treating certain population groups or segments, such as women, teenagers and people affected by other psychological and/or physical conditions.

Even though opiates have the same effects on the body and mind regardless of the person, issues surrounding a person’s life circumstances, family history and physical/psychological health all affect how opiate addiction impacts his or her life. Inpatient methadone treatment centers specializing in the types of issues a person faces are more likely to offer the type of care a person needs most.

Things to Consider

Important things to consider when finding an inpatient methadone treatment program involve the quality of staff working at any one facility. Safe and effective drug treatment requires staff to be experts in their fields with ample experience in treating opiate-type addictions. This means doctors, nurses, therapists and social workers should all be experienced drug treatment professionals.

Also important is the emphasis programs place on designing individualized treatment plans for each person. Individualized treatment planning entails conducting a thorough assessment to determine a person’s specific treatment needs. Proper accreditation credentials also say a lot about the quality of an inpatient methadone treatment program in terms of the facility’s overall condition and the quality of care provided.