A Counseling Plan for Medication Assisted Treatment or Mat

Medication Assisted Treatment continues to gain popularity as an effective option for treating Opioid Use Disorder. I decided to publish a patient/counselor workbook in 2014. At the time the book was written, there was little information available about appropriate counseling plans for MAT. Since publishing that workbook in 2014, my patients & I have come across multiple insights and observations, prompting the need to publish this 2nd edition. First and foremost: 1. Suboxone, Zubsolv and Bunavail, when appropriately used, are highly effective medications, and MAT is saving lives. 2. MAT works best when the treatment plan includes patient, physician and counselor collaborating in a team effort. 3. The delivery system needs improvement. 4. Some of the doctors, though well intentioned, are not experienced at working with opiate addicted clients and the unique set of challenges that they bring. Many MAT doctors are on a sharp learning curve. 5. Some well-meaning substance abuse counselors, frankly, have not kept up with all the changes and latest research in their own field. As a result, they have maintained one style fits all, outdated belief systems and strategies. 6. As a result, patients and society are not receiving enough consistent information about the disease of Opioid Use Disorder and how MAT maintenance and accompanying substance abuse counseling are supposed to work. I think that now, more than ever, there exists a great opportunity for addiction counselors, physicians, mental health providers and patients to come together and learn from each other. My experience is that MAT physicians and mental health providers have been very open minded to work with me and the opiate dependent client. Everyone working together as a team provides positive results. This book was developed with the hope that both patient and healthcare provider could use it as a guide to promote recovery from Opioid Use Disorder. My goal was to create a hands-on workbook that touches on numerous recovery topics to be addressed in counseling. Part one is a combination of evidenced-based recovery strategies along with helpful concepts and tools for maintaining ongoing recovery. Part two, which did not appear in the 1st edition of this, workbook introduces the reader to the concepts of Struggle Reduction. Since unhealthy anxiety is perhaps the most common trigger for slips and relapse, The Art of Struggle Reduction presents a unique approach for decreasing and managing anxiety.