Interior Health expands innovative substance use treatment

Interior Health is offering a new option for people seeking substance use treatment.

The health agency has announced five new integrated treatment teams based throughout the southern Interior in Enderby/Salmon Arm, Penticton, West Kelowna, Kamloops and Cranbrook.

Members of the treatment teams have been hired and trained over the winter and are now ready to start seeing clients.

The model is designed to be as flexible as possible to accommodate people who have been unable to attend traditional inpatient or outpatient treatment programs in the past due to work schedules, lack of transportation, child-care demands, or other reasons.

“This is a brand new team and a new approach,” said Lindsay Coughlin, a member of the Integrated Treatment Team for West Kelowna. “We provide more flexible, discreet treatment options for those who haven’t reached out before, including clients at risk of overdose or those who have significant substance use issues.”

Coughlin says when people think about addiction treatment they immediately think about inpatient facility-based treatment or ‘rehab’.

“However, evidence shows that accessing treatment in a community setting can have excellent outcomes. We offer substance use counselling and treatment online that is self-paced, something we haven’t offered before, and really supports people with work schedules and other responsibilities,” added Coughlin.

“Stigma drives people to use alone and that isolation has been disastrous with the overdose crisis and the pandemic combined,” Sheila Malcolmson, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, said. “Embedding these new multidisciplinary teams in communities will provide a clear a path for people to access the health care they need and to be seen with dignity, compassion, and respect.”

For more information about Integrated Treatment Teams and other mental health and substance use services within Interior Health, visit www.interiorhealth.ca.