What Does the Future of Addiction Treatment Look Like?

In the last installment of the Psychiatric Times interview with Joseph Volpicelli, MD, PhD, he discussed the future of addiction treatment.

Volpicelli says we are at a turning point of understanding addiction, noting a grand swell in support among the general public. He says he has worked with grassroots organizations looking to bring naltrexone and evidence-based treatments to the general public. “For so long, we’ve had a certain model of addiction that is based on this moral approach, character defect, that the only way to recover is by completely abstaining from using alcohol,” Volpicelli said.

Recent research and patient experiences suggest that there is a variety of ways to get better, and the outcomes can be made to match a patient’s goals. “For some people, they want to just moderate their drinking, they don’t want to give up drinking all together. It turns out that that is possible with the right kind of therapy and medicine, like naltrexone,” Volpicelli said. He notices the support for traditional programs being disrupted by the new strategy for treatment.

Volpicelli said the use of naltrexone is versatile and can be made to fit the needs of many. For those who want to control how they drink on a night out, taking naltrexone before going out can limit their consumption. For patients abstaining from drinking, taking a dose of naltrexone in anticipation of a high risk event to avoid the temptation may help. For patients who motivation may waver, an injection that lasts 30 days might work best to keep them motivated.

Psychosocial treatment can help with patient engagement, including showing patients the long term impact taking medicine and treating addiction will have on them. Volpicelli also mentioned the use technology to keep patients on track, much like. How fitness trackers keep tabs on calories burned and steps taken.

This is part 5 of a 5-part interview with Joseph Volpicelli, MD, PhD. You can watch the full interview here.

Dr Volpicelli is the executive director of the Institute of Addiction Medicine.