Behavioral Health Services

OCH’s IMAT Program offers different approaches in reducing withdrawal symptoms. With options, patients can choose the best approach for them personally to better focus on counseling, which is essential for a full recovery. Potential medication options include outpatient detoxification, induction onto buprenorphine, or another treatment, including naltrexone.*

IMAT is based on a medical model. We know chronic opiate use changes the brain, yet it’s possible to recover fully with the right treatment and counseling. The key to optimal recovery is a personalized experience with treatment options that keep patients at the center of their whole-person care.

*Our treatment program does not include dispensing or prescribing Methadone.

• Reduces uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms

• Decreases the risk of relapse during all stages of recovery

• Stops opioid cravings

• Empowers patients to wean off the medication as recovery progresses

A pattern of opiate use can lead to daily problems with friends, family and others in their community. Typically, opiate use disorder develops when opioids are taken in larger amounts over time, there is an unsuccessful desire to cut down, there’s continued use despite negative consequences, and/or a lot of time is spent on getting opioids, using opioids, or recovering from their effects.

At OCH, our team-based treatment approach improves whole-person health and wellness—not just addiction recovery. IMAT is best for patients who value the power of a committed, knowledgeable team supporting them in their recovery. It’s ideal for those who want to learn how to thrive through a healthier, more resilient life.

An evidenced-based, outcomes-focused process of change whereby individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential. Our IMAT staff works closely with patients and their families on a path to recovery that is person-centered, strengths-based and trauma-informed. It is inclusive of family and is individualized and comprehensive.

IMAT uses longer-acting, safer medications to help overcome more dangerous opioids. Studies show maintenance treatment with long-acting opioids like buprenorphine tends to keep patients healthier, reduces criminal activity, and helps prevent drug-related diseases like HIV/AIDs and hepatitis. Patients who strongly object to using maintenance opioids may choose a different type of IMAT. For example, naltrexone is not an opioid—it works by blocking the effects of opioids in the brain for up to one month.

Opiate use disorder or addiction is not “cured” by medication alone—it is a “chronic” (long-lasting) disease. Just like diabetes is not “cured” by the use of insulin, people with addiction are not “cured” by medications alone. Success in recovery also requires participation in behavioral health treatments such as group and individual counseling, social support, long-term aftercare, and lifestyle changes.

Some people eventually quit using opioids on their own through abstinence, but most face dangerous cycles of relapse and recovery. IMAT can make the recovery process much safer. It has saved many lives by preventing death from overdose. Medical professionals view opioid use disorder as a medical disease. This disease can be caused by repeated exposure to a drug, coupled with genetic or environmental risk factors, leading to physical changes in the brain’s opioid receptors. In this view, addiction can be treated and managed with medication, much like other medical conditions.

Alcohol and drug use are among the top ten causes of preventable death in the United States. Screening is the first step in identifying and addressing substance use as part of routine medical care. Click here for more resources and tools.