Why is the Mission’s recovery program abstinence-based when medication-assisted recovery has shown such promising results?
The Mission’s recovery programs have addressed the physical, spiritual and behavioral aspects of recovery for the last 30 years, long before the use of methadone or buprenorphine were even an option. We’ve had a strong long-term success rate without the use of supplemental substance, with nearly 70% of our graduates sober, working or in school two years after graduation from our program. We believe that addiction is cause and effect, and our programs place heavy emphasis on discovering the root cause. At times, medication can mask that discovery process or act as a Band-Aid when used on its own, and one might never be off that medication. That being said, medication-aided recovery is something our staff experts will continue to evaluate as our program evolves.