Email Updates
Supporting recovery from OUD goes beyond medication—it requires attention to mental health, behavior, and the challenges patients may face. See below for tools for integrating counseling, preparing for setbacks, addressing suicide risk, and responding to difficult situations with compassion and clarity.
Counseling and Other Psychosocial Supports
Explore how psychosocial supports—including counseling and health services—can complement MOUD, especially for patients with co-occurring conditions like depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Consider flexible, patient-driven engagement and coordination with providers to support whole-person care.
Determining Patient Needs
Assess each patient's willingness and need for counseling or psychosocial supports, recognizing the importance of tailoring these services to individual needs and not mandating them as a condition for prescribing medications for OUD.
Connecting Patients to Care
Facilitating connections to psychosocial supports—whether through referrals or coordinated care—can improve outcomes, especially when providers collaborate with mental health professionals.
Integrating Mental Health Services into Primary Care
Prescribing psychiatric medications and integrating mental health services into primary care supports patients with co-occurring conditions, fostering whole-person care and continuity of treatment.
Prevention and Response to Recurrence of Use
Recurrence of use is a natural part of recovery. View strategies to help patients identify and respond to setbacks, including collaborative planning, destigmatizing setbacks, and updating care plans as patient needs evolve.
Understand the Precursors to Recurrence of Use
Recurrence of use is a symptom of this chronic brain disease, and understanding the emotional, environmental, and behavioral triggers helps providers and patients prepare for and manage setbacks without stigma.
Develop a Prevention Plan
Collaboratively creating a personalized plan with patients to identify triggers, coping strategies, and support systems can reduce the likelihood of recurrence and empower patients in their recovery journey.
Respond to Recurrence of Use
Treat recurrence as a learning opportunity, offering nonjudgmental support, reassessing treatment needs, and reinforcing engagement rather than penalizing patients.
Suicidality
Patients with OUD face significantly elevated suicide risk, yet this is often overlooked in overdose prevention efforts. Discover best practices for suicide screening, delivering brief interventions, and connecting patients to appropriate care.
Identify Warning Signs
Train staff to recognize behavioral and emotional indicators of suicide risk—such as agitation, access to lethal means, and prior attempts—especially in patients with OUD.
Respond to Warning Signs
All team members must understand how to respond to imminent suicide risk by conducting safety assessments, initiating brief interventions, and connecting patients to crisis services.
Develop Protocols
Establish clear protocols for suicide risk screening, intervention, and referral, integrating these into routine care for patients receiving MOUD.
Challenging Patient Behaviors
Learn how to manage difficult situations with empathy and structure, offering guidance on policies for recurrence of use, early refill requests, and patient-staff interactions. Consider training staff in de-escalation techniques and person-centered responses that support retention in MOUD care.
Address Continued Substance Use
Continued use of opioids or other substances during MOUD treatment is common. Address this with supportive strategies like motivational interviewing, without discontinuing care or medication.
Reduce Diversion Risks
To minimize the risk of medication diversion, implement clear protocols—including refill policies, drug screening, and prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) checks—while maintaining a nonjudgmental approach that encourages patient honesty and engagement.