It is the mission of Gateway Treatment Centers, LLC to provide a respectful, therapeutic and safe environment that will assist and encourage opioid dependent individuals to stabilize functioning so they are able to improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.
Believing that opioid use disorder is a disease, Gateway Treatment Centers, LLC (GTC) provides medical treatment for opioid use disorder using FDA-approved agonist and partial agonist medications (i.e. methadone and buprenorphine) along with individual and group counseling, ongoing medical evaluation, peer support services as available, and other psychosocial support services within GTC’s facility and/or through referral to outside agencies. GTC patients are individuals with opioid use disorder who are seeking treatment and attempting to change and/or improve their quality of life. GTC recognizes the complexity of working with this specialty population and therefore provides care in medical, psychological, sociological, economical, and spiritual areas of treatment. All treatment at GTC will be conducted in an environment that promotes positive encouragement and the dignity of all patients served.
GTC is committed to meeting the expectations of the staff, patients, and the community in which we operate. We believe that Methadone and Buprenorphine Maintenance and Detoxification treatments are valid medical interventions that are needed to assist individuals with opioid use disorder. Treatment should be available to provide support, education, counseling and resources when these individuals seek help.
We believe that Methadone and Buprenorphine Maintenance treatments, specifically, provide a service to the community by the reduction of crime, medical treatment and emergency room visits, and public assistance utilization. This treatment also reduces the spreading of communicable diseases such as Hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS by lowering and eliminating injection opioid use.
Program Description
Gateway Treatment Centers, LLC recognizes a description of opioid use disorder as consistent with that of other substance use disorders delineated in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5): A pattern of pathological use marked by the physiological and psychological inability to abstain; and impairment in social functioning, emotional and psychological health and stability, behavioral stability, interpersonal relationships and occupational functioning. Pathological use is often characterized by a myriad of problems or manifestations that include increased incidences of hospitalization, medical problems, arrests, increased involvement with the criminal justice system, loss of friends or negative changes in family and interpersonal relationships, inability to maintain employment, increased financial problems, "acting out" through anti-social behavior and at a more personal level, loss of self-esteem, self-confidence, and a decreased sense of personal responsibility. Characteristic of opioid use disorder is the continued use of opioids despite catastrophic consequences (i.e., loss of job, negative impact on school, estrangement from loved ones). GTC's opioid treatment program (OTP) focuses exclusively on those patients with opioid use disorder and attempts to help them break out of their disruptive and self-destructive lifestyles. A major programmatic focus is toward initial medication stabilization within the first 30 to 60 days. This focus on early medication stabilization is intended to halt the dysfunctional lifestyle that is often characteristic of an active, untreated opioid use disorder. Further, once the biology of the patient’s brain is stabilized with an adequate dosage of methadone or buprenorphine, the patient is then able to begin prioritizing counseling through which the patient can begin to work on and achieve their larger life goals.
Treatment Philosophy
Gateway Treatment Centers, LLC adheres to a recovery-oriented and a recovery-focused philosophy of treatment.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services developed a working definition of recovery in December 2011 that refers to recovery as "A PROCESS OF CHANGE THROUGH WHICH INDIVIDUALS IMPROVE THEIR HEALTH AND WELLNESS, LIVE A SELF-DIRECTED LIFE, AND STRIVE TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL." SAMHSA also delineated four major dimensions that support a life in recovery: Health, Home, Purpose and Community.
GTC will primarily help patients focus on the health dimension, about which SAMHSA says, "overcoming or managing one’s disease(s) or symptoms—for example, abstaining from use of alcohol, illicit drugs, and non-prescribed medications if one has an addiction problem—and for everyone in recovery, making informed, healthy choices that support physical and emotional wellbeing." The medication(s), medical consultation and psychosocial support we offer will help a patient first and foremost, "improve their health and wellness." Once a patient’s health begins to improve and his or her physical withdrawal symptoms and psychological cravings are at bay, their home life may begin to improve, the patient will once again be able to perceive and determine his or her own purpose, and the patient will start becoming more engaged in his or her community. Ultimately, through the comprehensive treatment and case management services provided by GTC, patients will be able to, “improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.”
