Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)

Medication-assisted treatment pairs FDA-approved medication with counseling and behavioral therapy. For opioid and alcohol use disorder, this combination has the strongest evidence base of any approach we have — it reduces cravings, lowers relapse rates, and for opioid use disorder it reduces the risk of fatal overdose.

Golden Coast Rehab holds California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) substance use disorder certification 370254AP for outpatient detoxification, outpatient, intensive outpatient, and medication-assisted treatment. We do not provide residential or inpatient treatment. MAT here is delivered alongside our outpatient and intensive outpatient programming, never as medication handed over in isolation.

What the medication actually does

For opioid use disorder, medication occupies or blocks the same receptors the opioid acted on, which stops withdrawal and cravings without producing a high at therapeutic doses. That frees up the attention and stability that therapy requires. For alcohol use disorder, medication can reduce craving or reduce the reward from drinking.

What it does not do is make the underlying problem disappear. That is what the therapy is for, and it is why we do not prescribe without it.

Addressing the objection directly

Some people are told that taking medication means they are not really in recovery, or that it is trading one drug for another. That belief costs lives. Medication for opioid use disorder at a therapeutic dose does not produce intoxication; it produces stability, and the evidence on overdose mortality is unambiguous. If your family or your recovery community is telling you otherwise, bring them to a family session and let us talk it through with them.

How MAT works here

Medical evaluation

A clinician reviews your substance use history, previous treatment, medical conditions, current medications, and mental health. That determines whether medication is appropriate and which one fits. The FDA-approved medications used here for opioid and alcohol use disorders are prescribed by our Medical Director, Dr. Sanjai Mathew Thankachen, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist, who also prescribes psychiatric medication where that is clinically appropriate — so the two are managed by one person rather than by prescribers who never speak.

Starting and stabilizing

Beginning the medication with close follow-up while dosing is adjusted. Cravings and withdrawal typically settle in this phase, which is what makes the therapeutic work possible.

Medication plus therapy

Individual and group therapy through our intensive outpatient or outpatient programs, running concurrently with medication management rather than after it.

Long-term management

How long you stay on medication is a clinical decision made with you, not a fixed program rule. For many people with opioid use disorder, longer treatment is associated with better outcomes, and there is no deadline imposed here.

Substances MAT is used for

• Opioid use disorder, including fentanyl, heroin, codeine, and prescription opioids
• Alcohol use disorder

There is currently no approved medication for stimulant use disorder. Methamphetamine and cocaine use disorders are treated with behavioral approaches, which do work.

If a mental health condition is also involved

Psychiatric medication and medication for substance use disorder are managed together here rather than by separate prescribers who never speak — see dual diagnosis.

Coverage and cost

Substance use treatment for Medi-Cal beneficiaries in San Diego County runs through the Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS), administered by San Diego County Behavioral Health Services rather than by your managed care plan. If you have Medi-Cal in the county — any of the four plans — and you meet DMC-ODS criteria, care here can be covered at no cost to you. See how Medi-Cal works here.

Call (858) 925-8589, answered 24 hours a day, and we will check eligibility with you. The San Diego County Access and Crisis Line is available around the clock at 1-888-724-7240.