Why not just send people to a recovery program?
We do encourage clients to attend to recovery programs. There are always some from our clinic in residential treatment programs. Many others attend to Twelve Step and other community groups. We offer a Recovery Support Group twice weekly at Clinic 528.

But to just expect a patient to go to a treatment program ignores the fact the many people who suffer from opiate drug addiction are physically unable to feel comfortable or to make progress in recovery unless they also have treatment for their symptoms.

An opiate addicted person has lost the ability to produce endorphins - the natural opiate substances in our body. The opiate receptors in their brains have increased in number and decreased in sensitivity due to the routine use of these drugs. Methadone deals with the painful symptoms of withdrawal and gets rid of the cravings to use opiate drugs.

When used in combination with a rehabilitation program - the structure and education provided by our program and/or community Twelve Step or other recovery groups - methadone works very well to facilitate recovery and lifestyle change.