The Aegis Scope of Practice combines replacement therapy (i.e., therapy with medication), with case management, social work, counseling and specialized services conducted in individual and group settings. When required, patients are referred to outside practitioners and community resources. Each Aegis patient is assigned to a caseload manager who personally works with the patient throughout the recovery process and coordinates the patient’s treatment. Treatment is customized to the individual characteristics and conditions of each patient and treatment plans are developed as a collaborative effort between the patient and their caseload manager. Treatment plans must set short and long-term goals, and place emphasis on clinical risk management, recovery, and relapse prevention. Treatment plans for patients within the maintenance program extend to other areas of the patient’s life, and focus on behavioral and lifestyle changes that are essential to successful recovery. Furthermore, Aegis patients take part in educational programs and in support groups headed by and made up of their peers.

Aegis clinics are outpatient treatment centers similar to any general medical office with a reception and waiting room, doctor’s office, examination rooms, dispensary, and individual and group counseling rooms. Click the following link to view our Clinic Organizational Chart.

Aegis provides three types of programs: a short-term detox program, lasting 21 days; a long-term detox program, lasting up to 180 days; as well as a maintenance program. The majority of patients are treated in maintenance, which follows the Harm Reduction Discipline, and allows patients to work on their recovery one step at a time. Harm Reduction is based on extensive clinical trials and studies that show it to be the most successful method for treating individuals recovering from extended periods of drug abuse, while facing multiple problems and conditions concurrently with their addictions.

Methadone is the primary medication utilized in NTPs and is a long acting synthetic narcotic drug that has been used in the U.S. since the 1960s. When used in proper doses, methadone is completely safe and has very minimal side effects. Methadone acts both as an agonist and antagonist, and as such, both blocks the euphoria caused by opiates and depresses cravings for opiates, without causing withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately, methadone is not a “silver bullet” and its effects are limited solely to drug cravings. However, treatment with methadone does allow patients to concentrate on the other aspects of recovery, enabling them to make necessary changes to their lifestyle such as improving their medical conditions, mental health, employment and social life.