BEHAVIOR THERAPY IS KEY FACTOR IN TREATMENT

Drug Addiction

The most successful treatment outcomes for drug addiction combine
pharmacological approaches with nondrug behavioral therapies.

The conflicting views expressed in The Sun News regarding the value of a
methadone clinic for the maintenance of persons addicted to narcotics
[opioids] in the Grand Strand region who have to obtain this drug elsewhere
underscores the fact that pharmacological treatments alone for drug
addiction and other complex disorders, such as chronic, nonmalignant pain,
are rarely long-term solutions.

These conditions significantly impact our entire community, which is also
in need of the wider utilization of nondrug behavioral rehabilitation
strategies for both the primary prevention as well as the successful
treatment of narcotic abuse and addiction.

Methadone is one of a number of synthetic opioid drugs that can eliminate
withdrawal symptoms, counter the euphoria and relieve the drug craving of
opiate addiction.

It has been used for over 30 years in the treatment of this disorder,
initially in detoxification and maintenance programs to reduce the
destructive social behavior and adverse medical consequences of the scourge
of heroin addiction, and later for addiction to other opioids such as
hydrocodone and OxyContin. However, according to the National Institute on
Drug Abuse, the most successful treatment outcomes for drug addiction
combine pharmacological approaches with nondrug behavioral therapies such
as contingency management and cognitive-behavioral interventions. The
column by Ed Andersen of Shoreline Behavioral Health Services [Dec. 31]
notes the key role of psycho-social factors and the utilization of
behavioral counseling by qualified professionals in achieving effective
drug addiction rehabilitation. This approach is also important in the
evaluation and management of many patients with chronic benign,
nonstructural pain, and is the best means of preventing the misuse and
abuse of narcotics and other drugs, as occurred at the former Comprehensive
Pain Clinic.

Insurance carriers, who have often been reluctant to adequately pay for
these services, need to recognize the long-term value of effective nondrug
rehabilitation strategies under the supervision of well-trained behavioral
and addiction health care providers.

These methods have the greatest chance of significantly reducing the large
social, economic and medical burdens of narcotic abuse and addiction in our
community.

The writer practices medicine in Myrtle Beach.