It isn’t easy to heal from a mental disorder that involves substance abuse. While therapy offers the best long-term benefits, some people need a little extra help. For example, adding Subutex treatment can increase the effectiveness of counseling for those who struggle with opioid abuse. However, it’s important for people to understand this drug first.
What Is Subutex?
Subutex is a brand-name prescription that contains the drug buprenorphine. It comes in the form of sublingual tablets that dissolve under the tongue. Doctors use it to treat opioid use disorder and dependence. As an opioid agonist-antagonist, it prevents withdrawal symptoms that arise after quitting opioid abuse.
It’s important for people to understand that taking Subutex without professional supervision is dangerous. Since the drug affects opioid receptors in the brain, it can be addictive if they use it for too long. A Subutex treatment clinic can provide safe administration of the drug to prevent its negative effects.
However, a mental health clinic doesn’t use only this drug to help people heal from opioid use disorder. It uses a combination of other mental health services as well, mainly counseling. Experts refer to this approach as medication-assisted treatment (MAT).
Effectiveness of MAT
Numerous studies show that medications are an effective way to help people heal from mental disorders. The most significant benefit is that it controls related symptoms so that they can focus on dealing with the real issue. When clinics use Subutex treatment, it reduces dependence and the chance of substance relapse too.
Combining Subutex Treatment With Therapy
The reason why taking Subutex isn’t enough to heal from opioid abuse is because it doesn’t address underlying problems. Most of the time, people don’t abuse substances just to do it. Instead, something drives them to want to use. The push might come from stress, peer pressure or a mental illness that they don’t know that they have.
Therapy is necessary to overcome the source of the problem. In general, various counseling techniques can address people’s emotional, mental, and social issues. However, they do so in different ways.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is one of the most common therapies that people receive alongside Subutex treatment. It focuses on identifying and changing negative emotions and thought patterns. The theory behind it is that these elements lead to destructive responses in difficult situations. With improved thought patterns and positive feelings, their behavior becomes more constructive.
During CBT sessions, people also learn how to anticipate stressful situations so that they can apply coping strategies. For instance, they might prepare themselves to control a rush of emotions or avoid the situations altogether. They can apply these strategies when they have cravings too.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
A Subutex treatment clinic will likely use DBT for people who have trouble controlling their emotions. As a subtype of CBT, it helps people accept their feelings and thoughts so that they can deal with them. Then, they can work on emotion regulation, preventing self-harm, and making healthy life changes. Muscle relaxation and controlled breathing are a couple of techniques that they learn.
Family Counseling
Subutex treatment is also a great complement to family therapy. In most cases, family members don’t understand how their loved ones feel or why they act like they do. Family therapists can educate them about the mental illnesses that challenge their loved ones. They can also teach them how to be supportive to prevent illness regression.
In addition, everyone in the family gets the chance to work out their differences with professional assistance. They can develop skills that help them solve future conflicts in healthy ways as well.
Get MAT at PACE Mental Health Houston
Do you struggle with a substance use disorder because of mental illness? You can get the care that you need at PACE Mental Health Houston. Along with the above services, we offer several forms of MAT and therapy, including:
As a mental health clinic, PACE Mental Health Houston offers dual diagnosis therapy. It’s common for multiple disorders to be present, especially when there’s a chemical imbalance in the brain. Because of that, this service addresses more than one illness at the same time.
Learn more about how Subutex treatment can help you heal. Get reliable mental health care at a clinic that you can trust. Call PACE Mental Health Houston at 866.971.8423.