Understanding Addiction
Addiction is a complex mental health concern, often co-occurring with other conditions such as depression or anxiety.
What Causes Someone to Develop an Addiction?
For many, there’s a misconception that someone dealing with addiction could just “choose to stop,” and view it as a moral failing, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. The brain is an incredibly adaptable organ, and alcohol and drugs can quickly rewire its reward pathways, making it harder and harder to quit over time.
Someone is more likely to develop an addiction when they have a mix of:
- Genetic precursors (having a family member who deals with addiction makes it more likely to develop)
- Having another mental health disorder, such as depression or anxiety
- Dealing with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as abuse, neglect, or family dysfunction
- Experiencing trauma
- Growing up in a home with access to substances
- Being in a high stress profession
Co-Occurring Mental Health Conditions
One of the biggest risk factors for developing an addiction is having another mental health condition, such as depression or anxiety. Some people dealing with mental health symptoms who don’t get proper treatment cope by using substances to avoid their thoughts and feelings. Over time, though, substance use can worsen mental health symptoms, causing a dangerous spiral.
How We Treat Addiction at Harmony
Our Wheeling, Morgantown, and Bridgeport clinics offer specialized addiction treatments, combining medication management and therapy services to help break the addiction cycle. We typically start with therapy and often include medication as well. Some substance use disorders can be specially treated with medication assisted therapy (MAT), while for others, treating the underlying mental health condition through antidepressants or antianxiety medications along with therapy is more appropriate.
Therapy
Therapy is an essential part of our program because addiction can impact many aspects of life, including self-esteem, relationships, and emotional regulation. Our therapists can help people getting out of addiction decide what they want out of life, and work toward practical solutions for how to get there. Additionally, many people develop an addiction as a way to deal with other mental health symptoms. A therapist can work with you to start facing your challenging symptoms and thought patterns instead of avoiding them, leading to long-lasting change.
Therapists will never judge you or shame you for what you’re going through. Their job is to offer you a supportive, trusting space to share openly and get to know yourself better.
Medication
For people dealing with opioid use, focused medication-assisted therapy (MAT) will be key in overcoming addiction, which we offer through our Recovery-based Outpatient Opioid Treatment Services (ROOTS) program. Our clinics typically prescribe buprenorphine (Suboxone) to reduce opioid cravings and prevent withdrawal symptoms. When clients take this medication, they can start to form new patterns separate from their opioid use, restoring relationships and rebuilding meaningful lives.
Our providers can also prescribe other medications, including naltrexone (Vivitrol) in certain cases when appropriate.
While treating the addiction is absolutely an important part of recovering, for those who are self-medicating with alcohol, cannabis, or other substances, a psychiatric provider could also help you find the appropriate, non-addictive medication to treat the underlying concern. For instance, starting medication for depression can help you regulate your mood, get better sleep, and overall help you feel better, lessening the need to cope with substances.
How We Approach Treatment
We strive to provide medication and therapy services in a way that best serves our neighbors in West Virginia. We require accountability from clients, both in terms of honesty and commitment to treatment.
We carefully monitor the progress of each client participating in these treatments, and we make every effort to protect our community from any illegal diversion of controlled substances.
Find the Healing You Deserve at Harmony
Our experienced providers will work with you or your loved one to address the complex emotional and physical elements of addiction.
For more information about our individual providers, view our team here. We pride ourselves in serving the unique needs of every neighbor who comes through our doors. By breaking the cycle of addiction, we can help you experience healing and growth. Call 304.410.0082 or schedule your first appointment today.
Addiction Treatment Locations
We are proud to offer our specialized ROOTS opioid addiction treatment programs at these West Virginia locations:
WHEELING OFFICE
1100 Main Street Suite 104
Wheeling, WV 26003
P. (724) 242-8671
F. 1(800) 734-8498
MORGANTOWN OFFICE
1005 White Willow Way
Morgantown, WV 26505
P. (304) 460-5123 xt.1
F. 1(800) 734-8498
BRIDGEPORT OFFICE
120 Professional Place Bridgeport, WV 26330
P. (304) 460-5123 xt.2
F. 1(800) 734-8498
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a referral for addiction treatment with Harmony?
No, you don’t need a referral for therapy, psychiatric medication, or our MAT program at Harmony. Simply call our intake team at 304.410.0082 and let them know you’re interested in addiction treatment.
What treatments are available for addiction recovery in West Virginia?
People seeking addiction treatment in West Virginia can come to our Harmony clinics for therapy, psychiatric medication, and medication assisted treatment (MAT) at select locations. Our philosophy is to treat mental health conditions holistically, combining therapy, medication, and lifestyle support.
Do I need to have a driver to my MAT appointments?
You can legally drive yourself home after MAT appointments in West Virginia, as long as you have a valid prescription and aren’t impaired. At Harmony, we do not require you to have a separate driver for your appointments.
Who will I see at my MAT appointments?
You’ll meet with a psychiatric provider, likely a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant, along with a medical assistant to ensure thorough care.
How do I get a suboxone prescription at Harmony?
To receive an MAT prescription from the Harmony, you’ll meet with a psychiatric provider for a full evaluation to determine whether you are eligible. If so, you will receive a prescription the day of your first appointment. After that, clients must attend all follow up sessions to maintain compliance, and limited prescriptions are given at each appointment.
How effective is addiction treatment?
Addiction treatment can be incredibly impactful. Over 85% of people who complete inpatient treatment for addiction are still sober nine months later. MAT programs have a 50–60% success rate when measuring continued engagement and maintaining abstinence from illicit drugs. Outpatient therapies and support groups like AA are linked to long-term sobriety.¹
Does insurance cover addiction treatment?
Yes, most insurance companies are required to cover addiction treatment, including inpatient and outpatient programs, therapy, and medication-assisted treatment. Harmony takes most major insurance plans for our services, so if you’re considering these treatments, talk to one of our intake specialists at 304.410.0082.