Understanding and Treating Opioid Dependence
Struggling with opioid dependence can feel frightening and overwhelming. If you or your loved one has developed an addiction to opioid painkillers, you might be feeling lost and uncertain about what to do next. You’re not alone, and with the right support, opioid dependence is very treatable. Here at Creative Care, our founders Dr. Morteza Khaleghi and Dr. Karen Khaleghi lead a skilled team of clinicians and treatment practitioners. Together, we develop a progression through an individualized, integrated treatment plan to end your opioid dependence.
Learn more about what opioid dependence is and how our approach will help you or your loved one overcome addiction and reclaim your life.
What opioid dependence is
An opioid is a type of painkiller found in many prescription drugs, such as Hydrocodone, Codeine, Morphine, and Oxycodone. It’s very common to develop opioid dependence after an initial prescription of opioids to relieve pain by a medical doctor.
The progression of opioid dependence develops when you’re unable to stop taking drugs with opioids in them without help. For example, symptoms of dependence on opioids include regularly taking additional opioids beyond what you’re prescribed. Additionally, increasing your opioid dose without medical supervision, feeling anxiety when you’re out of or away from your opioids, and feeling symptoms of withdrawal when you stop taking opioids.
How we treat opioid dependence
Treating opioid dependence requires a different approach for every individual. Our clinicians begin by getting to know you or your loved one through an initial intake process.
From there, they develop a personalized treatment plan that addresses physical, mental, and social factors that are contributing to the addiction. You or your loved one’s treatment frequently includes detox, addiction therapy, a 12 step program, and integrated pain management.
Detox treatment
If you or your loved one is currently suffering from physical addiction to opioids, you’ll most likely start your treatment with our detox program. Detox will break your physical and chemical dependence on opioids.
Our team develops our medically supervised detox program to ensure you’ll be as comfortable as possible during the process. Most of our patients with opioid dependence detox under Suboxone® sublingual films.
Addiction therapy
After breaking your physical dependence on opioids, the next step is psychological support to help you develop new healthy coping behaviors. For example, you might participate in individual therapy, family therapy, or couples therapy with our clinicians.
We’ll assign you a staff therapist as well as a counselor. You’ll start out seeing your therapist several times per week to ensure you receive the support you need. On the other hand, if your loved one is in our program, you can get involved in this phase by attending weekly family or couples therapy sessions.
12 step program
Recovering from opioid dependence also involves being part of a strong community. To this end, we help you attend 12 step group meetings, where you’ll receive support from a group of like-minded peers.
Integrated pain management
Often, opioid dependence develops as a result of individuals being in pain. If you’re experiencing chronic or acute pain, we’ll work with you or your loved one to develop an opioid-free integrated pain management program to help manage your pain.
Continued opioid dependence has the potential to harm your health, personal well being, and relationships. However, you don’t need to continue to suffer. Indeed, under the care of our experienced team, you’ll develop the coping skills you need to say goodbye to opioids for good.
Creative Care operates two treatment centers, serving patients in Woodland Hills and Calabasas, CA. To start getting the help you or your loved one needs, call us at 800-409-7457.