Together , a national resource center for communities working to reduce substance abuse and gun violence. Join Together has a vast library of resources and information on drug abuse treatment and advocacy, and is a must see site for anybody involved in the addiction field. Who's Who sites not mentioned above at Drugnet . Outpatient methadone programs administer the medication methadone to reduce cravings for heroin and block its effects. Counseling, vocational skills development, and case management to help patients access support services are used to gradually stabilize the patients functioning.
Some patients stay on methadone for long periods, while others move from methadone to abstinence.
Patients generally stay in these programs several months or up to a year or more. Some of these programs are referred to as therapeutic communities. As with long-term residential treatment programs, patients may stay in these programs for months or longer. Short-term inpatient programs keep patients up to 30 days. Most of these programs focus on medical stabilization, abstinence, and lifestyle changes.