As more people have become aware of the high number of opioid related deaths, efforts to stop the epidemic have doubled down. Public policies might change to help substance abusers access treatment. Toward this end, research has begun to question the restrictions placed on patients who seek MAT, medication assisted treatment. One study questioned the requirement of counseling, proposing that medication alone, with no strings attached, might get more people in the door to treatment, and keep them there. Listen in to this opiate recovery support group as they discuss their thoughts on counseling as a requirement of MAT. 

Discussion Guide:

When you sought MAT, did you look forward to counseling, or resist it?

Is it a good idea to lift the requirement of counseling for people who are enrolled in MAT?

What are the advantages of mandatory counseling in treatment?

What are the disadvantages of mandatory counseling? 

Has counseling helped you? And would you have made as much progress without it?

Supplemental Reading:

Beth Schwartzapfel, The Marshall Project, No Strings Attached: More Opioid Addicts Get Meds Without Talk Therapy, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2019/05/09/opioid-crisis-drugs-no-therapy/1131110001/