If you are looking into a heroin addiction treatment program for yourself or someone you care about, you’re already taking the first step toward overcoming a substance use disorder. Remember that heroin addiction treatment affects more than a patient’s quality of life — it can be the difference between life and death, as this type of addiction can eventually end in a fatal overdose.
Heroin is now an illegal opioid, but it was once the most effective painkiller in the medical field. The primary addictive effect of heroin, which involves brain chemistry changes, is why it’s no longer used medically. However, heroin is still manufactured and sold illicitly as a white or brown powder. Heroin misuse leads to addiction cases that often need 24-hour professional help to overcome. Searching for a partial hospitalization program near Boston, MA? Reach out to Rockland Recovery today by calling 855.732.4842 or contacting our team online.
How Do You Overcome Heroin Addiction?
The typical comprehensive heroin addiction treatment program usually has three main components:
- Behavioral therapy: Many types of behavioral psychotherapy may be used in addiction treatment, such as evidence-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). However, some types of treatment may offer a holistic approach to behavioral intervention — such as art and music therapy, meditation, yoga, and numerous others. Behavioral therapies are particularly beneficial when combined with medications and an intensive level of care.
- Pharmacological treatment: In the first place, heroin withdrawal symptoms are typically treated using FDA-approved drugs like methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone as medication-assisted treatment (MAT).
- Self-help or support groups: While some behavioral therapy sessions may have a group setting, they’re not the same as self-help or support group meetings. Options like the popular 12-step programs are available outside an addiction treatment facility and can help provide options for support and structure when an alumni program or a sponsor isn’t available.
Worth noting that any professional attempt at treating heroin addiction must begin with the detox process, often resulting in a patient undergoing MAT.
What’s a PHP?
To overcome heroin addiction, it’s often recommended to get admitted into a residential treatment program. A program like this typically provides the highest level of care possible for a patient struggling with addiction. However, some patients may not be able to make a time commitment for inpatient care. They may need to go back home after treatment sessions and be allowed to go to their offices or schools daily. A partial hospitalization program (PHP) may suffice for cases like this.
A PHP typically requires an average of five sessions a week. These treatment sessions can be anywhere from four to eight hours long, depending on the patient’s needs. While the time commitment needed for a PHP is huge, a PHP is still more flexible than any inpatient treatment program. A patient can go back and forth between their typical day-to-day schedule and addiction treatment sessions with a PHP.
How Does a PHP Fit Into a Heroin Addiction Treatment Program?
When overcoming heroin addiction, professional help is needed. But sometimes, what’s recommended is not feasible. Whether a patient resists residential treatment because of scheduling conflicts or cost issues, the important is that it’s not a choice they’re willing to make. In cases like this, a PHP may be the best compromise.
In a PHP, you also detox with medical attention — something that overcoming heroin addiction requires you can’t just go cold turkey and quit it. The first step of detoxification from heroin includes medical tapering. In medical tapering, FDA-approved drugs such as methadone are used to wean the patient off heroin gradually. The average length of the heroin detoxification process is anywhere between nine to 14 days.
Sometimes, a client may undergo the detox process while also working on other addiction treatment interventions. However, typical treatment programs wait until a patient is stabilized from detox before scheduling other addiction treatment sessions. However, in a PHP, the focus is to maximize the time commitment a patient gives over a short program length.
Ready To Learn More About Rockland Recovery’s Partial Hospitalization Program?
If you’re looking for a partial hospitalization program near Boston, MA, contact Rockland Recovery today. Reach out to our team online or call 855.732.4842.
