ABOUT US
OUR PROGRAM
The Center of Integrative Medicine is a Pennsylvania Center of Excellence in the treatment of opiate use disorder. The Centers of Excellence program was created by the governor of PA to address the opioid overdose crisis. Pennsylvania has been at the heart of this crisis, with one of the highest overdose rates in the country. CIM is located in Delaware County, PA, where the overdose rate has been more than twice the national average. CIM is committed to ending the overdose epidemic and saving lives and families.
We are a team of committed and highly trained healthcare providers who at all times work together to help you in your recovery and to help you to get your health and your life back together after you have experienced the pains of addiction. We have high expectations of you, and we hope that you have high expectations of us.
You will find everything you need to know about our program here
MEDICATION ASSISTED THERAPY
The best treatment for opiate use disorder generally involves using a medication to replace the opioids you have been taking. There are a variety of medications that can be used to do this, and the most common is called buprenorphine. These medications generally work in your brain to help you not feel withdraw from and cravings for opiates. While you are taking the medication, you can get into the real work of recovery.
The medication is a tool to help you stay off of opiates. It is not, though, a fix-all in recovery. This is why everyone at CIM works with a therapist and a team to do the real work of healing, committing to a new way of life, and building a sense of yourself as a person in recovery.
If you are prescribed a medication to assist your recovery, you will be explained how to use it, and you will be given the doses that are medically appropriate for you. CIM will monitor your progress in achieving sobriety by taking weekly urine drug screens that measures levels of the medication in your body as well as help you to hold yourself accountable to your sobriety. If your urine drug screens show that you are struggling, CIM will help you to step up your approach to recovery or to refer you to a higher level of care if that is needed.
CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE
Centers of Excellence view each patient as a whole person. We strive to address all of the needs of each person with opiate use disorder as they work toward recovery. We integrate medical and mental health care and actively work to coordinate your care so that each of your needs are taken care of.
Information about the Centers of Excellence program can be found at:
http://www.dhs.pa.gov/citizens/substanceabuseservices/centersofexcellence/
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
CIM serves as a training site for future professionals. CIM is part of the American Psychological Association doctoral psychology internship consortia at both Widener University and Chestnut Hill College. CIM has also worked with students studying clinical psychology at Immaculata University and art therapy at Drexel University.
CIM hosts a clinical psychology postdoctoral residency program that recruits trainees from all over the country and that is pursing accreditation by the American Psychological Association.
CIM also commits to ongoing training of it’s staff. Every week, CIM hosts a “didactic” training with trainings offered by staff and by outside experts on topics ranging from addiction, healthcare, specific mental health disorders, trauma, art therapy, and many others. We are committed to ensuring that the staff you work with at CIM are as highly trained as possible, because you deserve to be treated with expertise and dignity.
For clinical psychology trainees, information about our postdoctoral residency program can be found at https://membership.appic.org/directory/display/2421
