Birmingham VA Health Care System Claimed

About Birmingham VA Health Care System

Birmingham VA Health Care System in Birmingham, Alabama is a primary care center that also provides mental health and addiction treatment services to adult veterans aged 18 and older including those with dual-diagnosis or concurrent mental health issues. They serve clients regardless of gender, race or background. They accept Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare and other private insurance providers.

At this facility, clients can access outpatient and intensive outpatient programs to tackle their addiction. Both feature scientifically proven courses of treatment, including therapy, medication, or a combination of the two.

Before beginning treatment on either of these programs, clients will undergo assessments and evaluations to establish the severity of their addiction and help the team get on board with what is the best approach to suit their individual needs. Referral services are also available for those in need of more intensive treatment, with the team on hand to help put people in contact with local VA facilities that can better meet their needs.

Therapy styles used in this program include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps clients develop more balanced thinking around themselves, their behaviors, and those around them. It also helps them understand their behaviors, and establish personal goals and a problem-solving approach to their substance use.

Meanwhile, motivational interviewing (MI) focuses on clients’ motivations for changing their behaviors. In their sessions, clients can expect to deep dive into the reasons they want to change, and the potential benefits of acting on that motivation. M

otivational enhancement therapy (MET) is another kind of MI that focuses more specifically on changing unhealthy behavioral patterns around drug and alcohol use. Lastly, contingency management (CM) is an incentive-based method, which sees clients receive incentives for completing recovery goals successfully and consistently. These incentives will get bigger relative to the achievements and recovery behavior displayed.

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is also available to help clients manage withdrawal symptoms and cravings, and encourage relapse prevention. FDA-approved medicines like suboxone, methadone, and buprenorphine, as well as buprenorphine blends, and naltrexone, are used for opioid use disorder, while others are prescribed for alcohol and tobacco use.