What Is Medication Assisted Therapy Or Mat?

0:00What is medication assisted therapy or MAT? I'm going to tell you. I'm Dr. Rodriguez from Healing

0:10Sky. I'm also the medical director of the Delroy Center for Healing. And today we're going to talk

0:14about MAT, also known as medication assisted therapy. This refers to the use of medications

0:23that are specifically engineered for the treatment of addiction. They are most commonly used in

0:29opioids, but are also used in treating alcohol dependence as well. These include medications

0:35such as methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone, and even technically naloxone. Methadone and

0:43buprenorphine are synthetic opioid type medications that were engineered to suppress opioid cravings.

0:52The idea here is that by suppressing their cravings for opioids, the burden of having these

0:58cravings is reduced so a person is able to use and implement their coping skills and their relapse

1:05prevention skills better without the distraction and constant burden of just craving opioids all

1:12the time. It is difficult and it is hard when somebody is trying to do the right thing, but

1:16they have intense cravings to do the drugs that are physically based, that are psychologically

1:21based. Buprenorphine and methadone are very effective in directly suppressing these cravings

1:28by binding to the mu opioid receptor. That binding has a partial agonist effect and that reduces the

1:37effect of the cravings, reduces the intensity of the cravings without producing a high. It tends

1:45to bring people back to at least feeling normal, how they were before they had an opiate issue.

1:50They can function without constantly just being obsessed with the opioids. You know,

1:56this form of treatment is very effective and has changed the course of addiction and the results

2:02people can expect, especially buprenorphine, which is now used widely and we have many options in

2:08pills and films and long acting injections that can dramatically improve a person's chance of

2:15success if they develop an opioid issue. People using MAT, medication assisted therapy,

2:21can often avoid even having to go to rehab and they can avoid most, if not all, of their

2:27potential relapses by suppressing these cravings effectively with the use of these medications.

2:33Other medications include naltrexone and naloxone. These are more antagonist type

2:39medications acting on the immune receptor as well. Naloxone is the agent used to reverse overdose

2:45and is used in emergency situations and can be given at home as a risk reduction or harm

2:53reduction technique in case somebody has an opioid problem and they accidentally overdose.

2:59They can take naloxone to survive and live another day and try again to hopefully get

3:05motivated to get better at some point in the future. They can help keep them alive.

3:09Naltrexone is also used to block opioids and it works at the same mu opioid receptor is considered

3:17a partial antagonist, although still extremely strong and it will bind to the opioid receptor

3:24much longer than naloxone ever would. This is good for blocking any potential relapse.

3:31If naltrexone is on the receptor and somebody takes opioids, the opioid will not work.

3:36The naltrexone will bind more tightly typically to the receptor and it will prevent the opioid

3:42from binding to the opioid receptor, thus preventing the opioid from exerting its

3:47effect on the brain. So it blocks it and this is done through either a pill or the shot.

3:55The shot being a long acting injectable naltrexone shot that will block the

4:00opioid receptor for up to a month, if not maybe a little bit longer.

4:04There are also implantable pellets of naltrexone that can be done with different

4:11compounding pharmacies and physicians that can surgically implant these and they can do it over

4:17a span of time longer than a month, usually several months. These treatments work very well.

4:23They increase the success rate of addiction treatment dramatically and they are highly

4:29recommended. They save lives every day. I will definitely highly recommend them.

4:34If you are interested in one of these therapies or need help with this with

4:39opioid dependence, there are many providers here on Healing Sky that can help you.

4:43If you would like for me to help you, I do use all of these modalities,

4:46at least the buprenorphine, the naltrexone and the naloxone.

4:51Methadone is only available in methadone clinics,

4:54so it cannot be used for treating addiction outside of a methadone clinic.

4:58But if you would like help from me, you can find me at DelrayCenter.com.

5:02If you would like to learn more about opioid dependence and treatment or addiction in

5:07general or mental health conditions, you can like, follow and subscribe to my

5:12content here on Healing Sky or you can follow my content that is being delivered through my

5:18podcast launching in the fall of 2026. I hope you find this helpful. Thank you.