Addiction Treatment
Your Path to Recovery Starts Here
Substance use disorder (SUD) — also called drug or alcohol addiction — can dramatically affect a person’s behavior and thinking. People with SUDs become unable to control their use of substances, which can impact their health, relationships or job.
Getting help is the first step to regaining control of your life. If you’re concerned about your relationship with drugs, sedatives, stimulants, cannabis or alcohol — even if you’re not sure if you have a SUD — please reach out to your primary care provider or our Addiction Treatment Center. Our compassionate team is here to help.
At University of Vermont Health, we know that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to treating SUDs. We spend time getting to know you and create an individualized treatment plan that will make it faster and easier for you to make a lasting recovery.
Why Choose UVM Health?
As one of the leading addiction treatment specialty centers in the region, we offer:
- Evidence-based treatments: We provide a range of outpatient services for people with SUDs and co-occurring mental health conditions.
- Experienced, compassionate care: Your care team is made up of clinicians with specialized training in addiction treatment. When necessary, we coordinate referrals to specialists in psychiatry, infectious disease and comprehensive pain management.
- Medication for substance use disorders: We offer a range of medications for alcohol, tobacco and opioid use disorders in our specialty clinic and primary care offices throughout the region.
- Inclusive care: We are dedicated to serving everyone and ensure that persons living with disabilities and/or limited English proficiency have equitable and timely access to care. Additionally, as a preferred provider of the Vermont Division of Substance Use Programs, we prioritize the care of pregnant individuals and those who use substances intravenously.
Conditions We Treat
We treat all substance use disorders and provide care to individuals that use substances that cause harm to themselves or others. Our center serves and prioritizes treatment for pregnant women. These disorders can range from mild to severe.
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a medical condition that involves frequent or heavy alcohol use. People with AUD have difficulty controlling their drinking, even when it causes social, emotional or physical problems.
Getting help is an important first step. If you’re concerned about your relationship with alcohol — even if you’re not sure if you have AUD — explore our guidance on reducing or quitting alcohol. Please also reach out to your primary care provider or our Addiction Treatment Center. Our team is here to support you in making a positive change in your life.
Cannabis Use Disorder is a medical condition in which a person has difficulty controlling their use of cannabis (marijuana), even when it causes problems in their health, relationships, work, school or daily life. Like alcohol and opioid use disorders, CUD exists on a spectrum from mild to severe.
Hallucinogen Use Disorder is a condition where a person has trouble controlling their use of hallucinogens, even when it causes problems with their health, relationships, work, school or everyday life.
Hallucinogens are drugs that change the way a person sees, hears, feels or experiences the world around them. They can cause hallucinations, change a person's sense of time and reality, and affect mood, thoughts and emotions.
Common hallucinogens include:
- LSD
- Psilocybin ("magic mushrooms")
- Mescaline (peyote)
- DMT
- PCP
- Ketamine
- MDMA (ecstasy)
Inhalant Use Disorder is a condition in which a person has difficulty controlling their use of inhalants despite negative effects on their health, relationships, work, school or daily life.
Inhalants are chemicals found in common household, workplace or commercial products that produce mind-altering effects when breathed in. People may misuse inhalants to feel relaxed, energized or intoxicated.
Common inhalants include:
- Spray paints
- Aerosol sprays
- Glue and adhesives
- Paint thinners and solvents
- Gasoline
- Cleaning fluids
- Nitrous oxide ("laughing gas")
OUD is a medical condition characterized by a harmful pattern of opioid use that causes distress or impairment in one's daily life. People with OUD have difficulty controlling their opioid use, even when it causes social, emotional or physical problems.
Opioids are chemicals that interact with nerve cells in the body and brain and reduce pain. This class of drugs includes both natural opioids (opiates) like heroin, and synthetic (man-made) opioids like fentanyl. Many opioids are legally prescribed and are safe when taken as directed, but because they are highly addictive, they have the potential to be misused.
Sedative, Hypnotic and Anxiolytic Use Disorder is a substance use disorder involving the problematic use of sedative medications or substances that slow brain activity and produce feelings of calmness, relaxation or sleepiness.
Common sedatives include:
- Benzodiazepines such as Xanax (alprazolam), Ativan (lorazepam) and Valium (diazepam)
- Sleep medications such as Ambien (zolpidem)
- Barbiturates and certain other prescription sedatives
Stimulant Use Disorder is a medical condition characterized by a pattern of stimulant use that becomes difficult to control and continues despite negative effects on a person's health, relationships, work, school or daily life.
Stimulants are substances that increase activity in the brain and nervous system, often producing increased energy, alertness, confidence or euphoria. Common stimulants include:
- Cocaine
- Methamphetamine
- Prescription stimulant medications used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), such as Adderall (amphetamine salts), Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine) and Ritalin (methylphenidate)
Tobacco Use Disorder is a condition in which a person has difficulty controlling their use of tobacco or nicotine products, even when it harms their health or affects their daily life.
Tobacco and nicotine products include:
- Cigarettes
- Cigars
- Chewing tobacco
- Nicotine pouches
- E-cigarettes (vapes)
Screening Form
Interested in Addiction Treatment services at UVM Health? Please complete our screening form and a member of our team will follow up with you.
Symptoms of Substance Use Disorders
While symptoms vary by substance, many people with a substance use disorder experience one or more of the following:
- Using a substance in larger amounts or for longer than intended
- Difficulty reducing or controlling substance use
- Strong cravings or urges to use
- Spending significant time obtaining, using or recovering from substances
- Continued use despite effects on relationships, work, school or health
- Giving up important social, recreational or professional activities
- Engaging in risky behaviors while using substances
- Developing tolerance and needing more of a substance to achieve the same effect
- Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when use is reduced or stopped
Diagnosing Substance Use Disorders
If you are concerned about your use of alcohol, opioids or other substances, start by talking with your primary care provider or a mental health professional.
Diagnosis typically involves:
- A conversation about your substance use patterns
- Review of symptoms and recovery goals
- Evaluation of physical health concerns
- Assessment for co-occurring mental health conditions (such as anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder).
- Laboratory testing or drug screening, when appropriate
Many people do not initially recognize that their substance use has become a problem. Speaking with a health care professional can help you better understand your situation and available treatment options.
Treatment for Substance Use Disorders
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to treating SUDs. Your clinician will work with you to determine the level of care you need and provide an individualized treatment plan to help you achieve and maintain your recovery goals. Our center serves and prioritizes treatment for pregnant women.
Treatment can take place in multiple settings. Depending on the severity of your disorder, you may need inpatient (hospital) treatment, residential rehabilitation (rehab), outpatient intensive therapy or outpatient maintenance and short-term counseling.
Behavioral therapy — also known as counseling or talk therapy — is one of the primary ways we treat SUDs. Through regular meetings with a psychologist or mental health counselor specializing in addiction treatment, you can learn ways to cope with the feelings that arise when you stop using substances. Behavioral therapy can also address underlying mental health conditions that may contribute to your SUD.
UVM Health offers different levels of care to treat patients at all stages of SUD:
- Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP): Intensive treatment for those who have recently completed inpatient treatment or rehab, are new to recovery, or have had a recent return to use. This consists of structured group therapy three days per week for three hours a day and weekly individual counseling as needed.
- Group counseling – early recovery: Group counseling twice a week for two hours per day, for people in early recovery and who do not need more intensive treatment.
- Group counseling – recovery support: Group therapy once a week or twice a month for one and a half hours, for those who are stable in their recovery and want ongoing support.
- Individual counseling: Weekly or as-needed individual therapy for people who need short-term (two to six months) support.
Three medications have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for AUD. These medications can help treat AUD but do not provide a cure.
- Naltrexone: Reduces the pleasurable feelings you get from drinking
- Acamprosate (Campral): Reduces alcohol cravings
- Disulfram (Antabuse): Makes you feel sick when you drink alcohol
You may also be prescribed medications to treat co-occurring mental health conditions like depression or anxiety.
There are three medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of opioid use disorder:
- Methadone: A long-acting opioid that can fully activate opioid receptors and helps to reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Methadone prescribed for an opioid use disorder can only be dispensed by a federally designated opioid treatment program (OTP). If you are interested in methadone, please contact your local OTP or “Hub” in Vermont, or use the national directory if you live outside of Vermont.
- Buprenorphine: An opioid that only partially activates opioid receptors. It suppresses and reduces cravings for opioids, significantly diminishes withdrawal symptoms and can blunt the effects of other opioids. Unlike methadone, it can be prescribed in a primary care provider’s office and obtained at a pharmacy.
- Naltrexone: A non-opioid medication that blocks opioid receptors to decrease the effects of opioids on the brain’s receptors and prevent a “high.” This medication comes in the form of a daily pill prescribed by your primary care provider, or a monthly injection administered in your provider’s office.
UVM Health offers several levels of care for those taking buprenorphine and/or naltrexone:
- Specialty office-based care: Includes on-site counseling, structured monitoring and regular medication management for individuals who are just starting MOUD, have recently changed providers or need intensive services to stabilize
- Primary care office-based treatment: For those who are stable in their recovery and need less frequent support and monitoring
- Emergency department treatment: Rapid access to MOUD programs is available in many of our emergency departments. These programs offer same-day access to medications that treat OUD, rapid referral for specialty care and connection with peer recovery coaches to support you in your initial steps towards recovery.
As part of the Hub & Spoke initiative, primary care providers that prescribe medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) within UVM Medical Center and some community practices are supported by MOUD teams. These teams include a licensed alcohol and drug counselor (LADC) and an experienced nurse who work in close collaboration with prescribers to support the complex needs of individuals in recovery.
The MOUD teams offer the following treatment and care coordination services:
- Individualized treatment planning
- Brief solution-focused counseling and assistance with referrals to long-term counselors in the community
- Treatment monitoring and ongoing assessment
- Care coordination with social, vocational, substance use, and mental health resources in the community
- Health education including nutritional counseling, medication effects, and chronic health care issues
- Assistance with referrals to medically supervised withdrawal and residential services as needed
Case managers and social workers are available to support you in your treatment and recovery. They offer:
- Referrals to community resources for housing and transportation needs
- Help enrolling in Medicaid and other benefits programs
- Continued care planning (discharge planning) for after you complete treatment
- Care coordination with outside providers
Some people may require more intensive treatment for SUD. Clinicians at UVM Health can refer you to programs offering round-the-clock medical supervision and monitoring (often called detox) to help you safely stop using substances. Many of these programs also offer residential treatment (rehab), which typically lasts two to four weeks and can help you learn the skills needed to change your thoughts and behaviors around substances.
SBIRT is a comprehensive, integrated public health approach to the delivery of early intervention and treatment services for patients at risk of developing substance use disorders. Screening is incorporated into some UVM Health primary care offices, which allows our trained counselors to identify and intervene with patients using tobacco, alcohol or drugs at risky levels.
Our SBIRT program offers free individual behavioral health counseling to those identified as being at risk for SUD. Our counselors work closely with your primary care provider in order to coordinate your care and support the changes you desire. When a referral is necessary, your counselor will keep in contact with you and your doctor to offer ongoing support and continuity of care.
As part of a health system anchored by an academic center, our physician-leaders have a rich history of introducing research and innovation to improve patient care.
Your clinician may talk with you about participating in a clinical trial or research study. Participation is entirely voluntary and can give access to new care methods before they are widely available.
If you are eligible for a specific trial, your clinician will explain the benefits and risks of participating and the steps for enrollment.
Locations near you
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1 South Prospect Street
St. Joseph, Level 3
Burlington, VT 05401
