Medications for Opioid Use Disorder

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This comprehensive course equips healthcare and behavioral health professionals to address opioid use disorder (OUD) with both medication and counseling approaches. Participants will review the opioid crisis, the chronic disease model, and the effectiveness of methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone, alongside screening, assessment, and treatment planning. Warm narratives and vignettes illustrate the lived realities of addiction, resilience, and recovery. Evidence-based modalities—including CBT, motivational interviewing, trauma-informed care, and integrated models—are explored in depth. Emphasis is placed on interprofessional collaboration, reducing stigma, supporting families, and addressing social determinants such as housing, employment, and poverty to foster sustained recovery and dignity.

This course is an online, non-interactive, reading based, self-paced, and asynchronous course.

If you have questions about the course, require accessibility accommodations or need assistance, please email info@speedyceus.com or call (909) 628-4216.

• Describe the scope of the opioid crisis and the rationale for using medications in the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD).
• Explain the chronic disease model of OUD and its implications for treatment and recovery.
• Identify the three FDA-approved medications for OUD—methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone—and their mechanisms of action, clinical applications, and safety considerations.
• Differentiate between various formulations of buprenorphine and naltrexone, including extended-release options, and outline appropriate patient selection criteria.
• Apply principles of screening, assessment, and treatment planning to integrate OUD medications into general healthcare and behavioral health settings.
• Evaluate strategies for working with special populations, such as pregnant women, individuals with co-occurring conditions, and those in diverse treatment environments.
• Demonstrate effective collaboration and communication among counselors, healthcare providers, clients, and families to support treatment with OUD medications.
• Utilize professional resources, practice tools, and recovery supports to overcome stigma, address barriers, and promote sustained recovery in individuals receiving OUD medications.
• Identify and apply evidence-based counseling modalities including CBT, motivational interviewing, trauma-informed care, and integrated models.
• Evaluate the counselor’s role in sustaining long-term recovery, from crisis intervention to supporting resilience and dignity across the lifespan.

Course Outline:

• Foreword and Executive Summary
• 
  Part 1: Introduction to Medications for OUD
• Part 2: Addressing Opioid Use Disorder in Practice
• Part 3: Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
• • Methadone
  • Buprenorphine
  • Naltrexone
• Part 4: Bringing Together Addiction Counselors, Clients, and Healthcare Professionals
• • The role of counselors in supporting medication treatment
  • Collaboration across disciplines
  • Communication strategies with clients and families
  • Recovery support and peer services
  • Addressing myths and misconceptions about OUD medications
• 
  Additional Content Counseling Clients with Opioid Addiction
• Chapter 1. Understanding the Human Experience of Opioid Addiction
• Chapter 2. Therapeutic Approaches and Relational Dynamics
• Chapter 3. The Web of Recovery: Family, Community, and Systems
• Chapter 4. Hope, Relapse, and Long-Term Growth

Course topics are chosen based on various board requirements and professionals needs. Licensed professionals oversee, compile and develop course materials, posttest, and other course materials, determine the level of difficulty, and ensure course content is appropriate. The course developer bio is available here.