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What is Suboxone? Why is it used?

Suboxone is the trade name for a combination of the medications Buprenorphine and Naloxone. It is given by mouth to reduce cravings and prevent opiate withdrawal symptoms.
The use of Suboxone has been shown to be effective therapy for opioid addiction. Rates of relapse with abstinence-based therapies have been shown to be 3 times higher than those for patients on medication assisted recovery.

Clients are strongly encouraged to attend.

While group members are a valuable source of support, formal group therapy sessions offer benefits beyond informal self-help and support groups. Group therapy sessions are led by one or more psychologists with specialized training, who teach group members proven strategies for managing specific problems. Individual and family sessions also available.

In therapy, the goal is to reinforce desirable behaviors and eliminate unwanted or maladaptive ones. Therapy is rooted in the principles of behaviorism, a school of thought focused on the idea that we learn from our environment.

DUI Alcohol and Drug Evaluation

If you were arrested in Illinois for a DUI, you must get an alcohol and drug evaluation before you are sentenced in court for the DUI offense, or before you are granted driving privileges by the Secretary of State.

When you first arrive at the Serenity Treatment and Counseling Center Inc. to undergo your evaluation, you are required by our licensing agency, The Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Substance Use, Prevention and Recovery (SUPR), to read and understand the evaluation process, which explains the evaluation’s purpose. Essentially, it states that the DUI Alcohol and Drug Evaluation Uniform Report takes into account factors such as: your driving history, chemical test results (e.g. blood alcohol content), an Objective Test score, and an interview with the evaluator for the purpose of obtaining facts about your past and current alcohol and drug use.

This information is then used to determine/classify you in one of four risk levels. The Risk Levels and related recommendations are: Minimal Risk (10 hours of DUI Risk Education); Moderate Risk (10 hours of DUI Risk Education and 12 hours of Early Intervention); Significant Risk (10 hours of Risk Education and 20 hours of counseling); and, High Risk (75 hours of counseling).

When entering our program, you will be assigned to a counselor with specialized training in the treatment of opioid dependency. Your counselor works with you to develop a treatment plan that meets your needs with the goal of improving your quality of life and overcoming your dependency on opioids. Your counselor will utilize the most current research in providing treatment services.

Our intake process includes a full medical assessment by a doctor and medical staff. This allows our agency to gather information to enable decisions about treatment to be appropriately informed to collaborative decision-making with the patient about treatment. All assessments are confidential.

Methadone is an opiate agonist, which has a series of actions similar to those of morphine and other narcotic medications. When taken on a daily basis (every 24 to 36 hours), it eliminates physical withdrawal symptoms. Additionally, when you are an effective dose level, you no longer have cravings for opioids, and if you do use, methadone blocks the euphoric effect of opioid abuse. The objectives of methadone maintenance treatment follow from this orientation: to improve function, lessen symptoms and discomfort, and lower the rate of mortality associated with addiction