Medication-Assisted Treatment

What is MAT?

It's medication and therapy together, not one instead of the other. The medication reduces cravings and withdrawal so the physical chaos calms down enough for the counseling to actually stick, and for someone to think clearly about their life instead of just surviving the next craving.

It's not a replacement addiction, and it's not "trading one drug for another," despite how often that gets said. The medications used are regulated, monitored, and don't produce the same euphoric high when taken as prescribed.

What it treats

Mostly opioid use disorder and alcohol use disorder — those are the conditions with FDA-approved medications and the strongest evidence behind them. It's endorsed by SAMHSA, NIDA, and the major medical bodies as an evidence-based standard of care, not an alternative or a "crutch."

Research into medications for other substances, like stimulant use disorder, is ongoing, but nothing comparable to methadone or buprenorphine has FDA approval yet for that category — which is why MAT, as a term, is mainly associated with opioids and alcohol.

The medications

For opioid use disorder: methadone (dispensed through licensed clinics), buprenorphine — often known by the brand name Suboxone — and naltrexone (brand name Vivitrol), which blocks opioid effects entirely rather than reducing cravings the way the others do.

For alcohol use disorder: naltrexone, acamprosate, and disulfiram, each working differently. Naltrexone reduces the reward from drinking, acamprosate helps stabilize brain chemistry during recovery, and disulfiram causes an unpleasant reaction if you drink, which works as a deterrent for some people.

Common myths about MAT

The biggest one is that it's just substituting one addiction for another. It isn't — when taken as prescribed, these medications don't produce the impairing high that the original substance did, and they're specifically designed to stabilize brain chemistry rather than hijack it.

Another myth is that MAT is a short-term fix. For plenty of people it's a long-term, even lifelong, medical treatment — the same way someone might stay on medication for diabetes or high blood pressure indefinitely. That's not failure. That's just what works for their body.

How long does it last?

As long as it helps, and that timeline is different for everyone. Some people taper off within months once other supports are solid; others stay on maintenance medication for years, sometimes indefinitely. Both are legitimate outcomes — this is a medical decision made with a provider, not a moral one.

Stopping too early, or under pressure from someone who thinks you "should be done by now," is a well-known relapse risk. The decision to taper should come from you and your provider tracking how you're actually doing, not a calendar.

What is MAT called now?

You'll increasingly see MAT referred to as MOUD — Medications for Opioid Use Disorder — or more broadly as "medications for addiction treatment." SAMHSA and other agencies have leaned into this shift partly to push back on the stigma baked into the word "assisted," as if the medication were a lesser add-on rather than genuine treatment. The terms describe the same category of care.

Finding a provider

For methadone, you'll need a licensed opioid treatment program (a "methadone clinic"), since it's federally regulated and dispensed onsite. For buprenorphine, you're looking for an authorized prescriber — increasingly common in regular primary care offices, not just addiction specialty clinics. Naltrexone can be prescribed more broadly.

Filter the directory below for centers that offer MAT, and don't hesitate to ask directly which specific medications a program actually provides — not every center offers all of them.