When someone you love is struggling with opioid addiction, you want to know that the treatment they choose gives them a real opportunity to get better.

You may have heard conflicting opinions about Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), including methadone and buprenorphine. You may wonder whether medication is simply replacing one drug with another, how long your loved one will need treatment, or whether abstinence would be more effective.

Those are reasonable questions.

The evidence is reassuring: medications for opioid use disorder are among the most effective treatments available for opioid addiction. They can help people stay in treatment, reduce illicit opioid use, lower the risk of overdose and death, and create the stability needed to rebuild their lives.

Families want to know whether treatment is working. We encourage them to look beyond medication itself and see the bigger picture: Is their loved one safer? Are they staying engaged in treatment? Are they rebuilding relationships, returning to work and beginning to live their life again? Those are meaningful signs of recovery.

Dr. Chip Roberts, Corporate Medical Director, New Season

When families hear the words “MAT success rate,” they may expect a single percentage.

Recovery is more complicated than that.

There is no universal success rate that applies to every person receiving MAT. Outcomes vary based on the medication, length of treatment, individual circumstances, continued engagement in care and how success is defined.

For someone with opioid use disorder, successful treatment can mean:

• Staying alive and preventing overdose
• Reducing or stopping illicit opioid use
• Remaining engaged in treatment
• Experiencing fewer cravings and withdrawal symptoms
• Returning to work or school
• Finding stable housing
• Rebuilding relationships
• Improving physical and emotional health
• Developing the skills and stability needed for long-term recovery

Recovery isn't represented by one number. It's reflected in a life becoming healthier, safer and more stable.

The evidence supporting medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder is strong.

SAMHSA reports that combining medication with counseling and behavioral therapies can improve patient survival, increase retention in treatment, decrease illicit opioid use and help patients gain and maintain employment.

The CDC also reports that medication treatment for opioid use disorder is associated with a reduced risk of overdose and overall mortality.

Put simply, evidence-based medication treatment can help people:

Stay in treatment.
Reduce illicit opioid use.
Reduce their risk of overdose.
Reduce their risk of death.
Build greater stability in their everyday lives.

At New Season, Medication-Assisted Treatment combines medication with individualized counseling and medical care. Medication options may include methadone, buprenorphine or Suboxone®, with treatment individualized under the guidance of a medical provider.

One of the most important things families can understand is that recovery takes time.

Your loved one may begin feeling better after starting medication, but that doesn't mean treatment is finished.

Staying engaged in care gives patients time to stabilize physically, participate in opioid addiction counseling, understand their triggers, develop coping skills and begin rebuilding the parts of life affected by addiction.

At New Season, we see the impact of sustained treatment in outcomes patients and families can actually relate to.

The impact of treatment isn't limited to opioid use. It can show up in nearly every part of a person's life.

New Season's patient outcomes demonstrate meaningful changes as patients remain engaged in treatment.

New Season patient outcomes show improvement in areas including:

• Employment
• Housing stability
• Opioid use
• Criminal justice involvement
• School and vocational participation

These aren't simply clinical measures.

They're a job.

A safe place to live.

Less opioid use.

A return to school.

A family beginning to heal.

New Season's 2025 Annual Report provides a deeper look at patient outcomes and how treatment can translate into greater stability, independence and hope.

Families sometimes assume that once opioids are out of someone's system, the addiction has been treated.

But detoxification addresses physical withdrawal. Opioid use disorder doesn't necessarily end when withdrawal does.

Cravings, changes in brain function and the risk of returning to opioid use can continue after detox.

MAT takes a longer-term approach by helping manage the medical condition while the patient works on the behavioral, emotional and social aspects of recovery.

Related: Medication-Assisted Treatment vs. Abstinence: What Families Need to Know

Families who want to understand how New Season brings medication, counseling and other services together can also explore our opioid addiction treatment services.

No. This is one of the most persistent misconceptions about MAT.

Methadone and buprenorphine are medications used under medical supervision to treat opioid use disorder. When appropriately prescribed and managed, they can reduce withdrawal and cravings and help stabilize patients so they can participate more fully in recovery.

Think about opioid use disorder as you would another chronic medical condition.
Someone with diabetes may need medication to manage diabetes. Someone with heart disease may need medication to manage heart disease.

Opioid use disorder is also a medical condition, and medication can be an important part of managing it.

Families can learn more about how medications and counseling work together on New Season's Medication-Assisted Treatment resource page.

Not necessarily.

There is no single treatment timeline that's right for everyone.

Some patients may use medication for a shorter period, while others may benefit from long-term treatment. Decisions about continuing, changing or eventually tapering medication should be made between the patient and their healthcare provider based on their individual needs and progress.

What matters isn't how quickly someone stops treatment.

What matters is whether treatment is helping them remain safe, stable and moving forward.

Instead of focusing only on whether your loved one is still taking medication, look at the changes happening around it.

Ask yourself:

• Are they staying engaged in treatment?
• Has illicit opioid use decreased?
• Are they more physically and emotionally stable?
• Are they participating in counseling?
• Are they returning to work, school or family responsibilities?
• Are relationships beginning to improve?
• Are they setting goals for the future?
• Is life becoming safer and more predictable?

Those changes may happen gradually.

Recovery is often easier to recognize when you look at the direction someone's life is moving rather than expecting one dramatic transformation.

Sometimes the most meaningful measure of treatment success isn't found in a statistic. It's found at home.

One New Season patient described what recovery gave back to her:

Since being in recovery I have been able to put my energy where it belongs. I have been able to revive my business and put more time and effort into my family. I'm able to be a mother and a wife again without fear. My family supported my decision and continue to help me through this.

A Patient from our Durham Treatment Center

That's what successful treatment can look like.

A person becoming present again.
A parent returning to their family.
Relationships beginning to heal.
A future becoming possible.

Read more New Season patient stories and testimonials.

Families understandably want their loved one back as quickly as possible.

But opioid addiction doesn't develop overnight, and recovery doesn't happen overnight either.

Staying engaged in evidence-based treatment gives people time to do much more than stop using opioids. It gives them an opportunity to rebuild their health, confidence, relationships and future.

Families want to see their loved one get better as quickly as possible. Our role is to help them understand that meaningful recovery takes time and that staying engaged in evidence-based treatment is progress in itself.

Dr. Chip Roberts, Corporate Medical Director, New Season

You can't recover for your loved one.

But you can learn.

You can encourage.

You can celebrate progress.

And you can help remove the stigma that sometimes makes people feel they need to rush off medication before they're clinically ready.

Supporting evidence-based treatment sends an important message:

“I care more about your health and your future than about what recovery looks like to anyone else.”

Learn more about The Family's Role in Opioid Addiction Treatment and how encouragement, healthy boundaries and understanding can support long-term recovery.

If your loved one is considering treatment, or you're trying to understand treatment they've already started, New Season can help.

Our team can explain how Medication-Assisted Treatment works, answer your questions about methadone and buprenorphine, and help you understand what recovery may look like for your loved one.

Find a New Season Treatment Center near you or call 1-877-284-7074 today to speak with someone who can help.