This is a guest post from N&G reader Julianna Dole

With the nation struggling with a growing opioid crisis, there’s a solution that can treat addiction and pain at a lower cost than expensive treatments such as Methadone and Suboxone and with less controversy than the 12 Step programs like Narcotics Anonymous. Occupational therapy should be better funded and deployed as a treatment to opioid usage.

Despite being one of the fastest growing professions, many are still unclear about what occupational therapy is and how we can use it to its maximum potential. Occupational therapy is a holistic healthcare profession that promotes health and participation for people across the lifespan via rehabilitation using daily activities. Most frequently, we associate this type of therapy with work-related injuries, overuse issues, or individuals with autism– all for which it is proven effective. It’s already being used to treat the rise in substance abuse, why not the opioid epidemic?

Congress is trying, but their efforts have fallen short. Within the past year, Congress has passed two bills that promote using occupational therapy as an effective means of treating the opioid crisis. The COACH Act of 2018 focuses on drawing awareness to opioid use in hospitals and recommending alternative practices for pain management. The Dr. Todd Graham Pain Management, Treatment, and Recovery Act of 2018 adds and adjusts requirements for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services associated with pain management and opioid use. While Congress deserves some credit for helping occupational therapy to become a more prominent method of rehabilitation, legislation has not yet reached the breadth or depth that it needs to in order to serve the populations in some of the direst need.

We don’t have time to wait. Students and young adults are beginning to experiment with drugs, alcohol, or substitutes for the two at younger ages. These drugs can boost dopamine release in the body, and individuals in search of an increased dopamine release may transition to using harder drugs- including opioids. Furthermore, our healthcare system often trends towards care methods that call upon pharmacological treatments rather than non-opioid strategies. Adults ages 26 and older use opioids the most often, but typically more for medical purposes. When it comes to recreational use, ages 18-25 are the most frequent users. With almost 30% of prescribed opioid patients misusing them, it is imperative that we become more familiar with alternative pain-management tactics. As a society, we lack sufficient knowledge regarding our full range of options when it comes to both seeking alternative treatments and where to turn when someone is already dependent on a substance.

Still, traditional rehabilitation facilities can be daunting and many avoid seeking help out of fear of negative opinions or conflicts with their regular schedule, not to mention the difficulties that come with paying for it. Occupational therapy is more flexible and doesn’t require expensive rehab facilities costing thousands of dollars per month. Occupational therapists work in a variety of both in-patient and out-patient settings. It’s an accommodating means of treatment without the negative stigma that deters so many in need such as the myriad of problems with groups like Alcohol and Narcotics Anonymous.

Occupational therapy can be cheaper than current treatments as well. As an element of many occupational therapy programs, students and faculty members often offer occupational therapy services for free or at reduced rates. These initiatives not only enhance students’ education by exposing them to cases outside of simulational practice but also provide a means for underserved individuals who cannot receive it otherwise.

Lives are being totally interrupted by opioid use. The New York Times late last year published a story of a Brooklyn family who went from eating caviar to sleeping on cockroach-infested couches due to opioid addiction. But occupational therapy can help clients to reassume the important roles in their lives and replace the vacancy of substance use with more meaningful activity. The employment of stress management techniques, sleep habit reformation, mindset modification, and alternative approaches to activities are just some of several ways in which OTs are able to help people manage pain and cope with symptoms of addiction without resorting back to the initial substance or other pharmaceuticals.

Every American with health insurance now has coverage for occupational therapy. The Affordable Care Act made occupational therapy a requirement for insurance plans, a great step towards making rehabilitation more accessible for all. The current treatments for opioid use, Methadone and Suboxone, can cost upwards of $8000 per month for treatment. But with more widespread awareness and funding, occupational therapy as an opioid treatment can help create programs for the uninsured and the homeless populations. With a strong connection between homelessness and addiction, it is important that occupational therapy becomes more widely recognized as a potential solution in addition to standard rehabilitation facilities.

Occupational therapy remains an underrepresented component of primary care despite being one of the most diverse careers in terms of where practitioners are found and who they serve. It is increasingly gaining recognition as an effective therapy for drug addicts, as well as a substitute for pharmaceutical methods of pain-relief. What the field currently lacks is sufficient communication with the public regarding these findings. While the government, occupational therapists, and other health professionals will continue to promote safer coping strategies for recreational and prescribed opioid users alike, we can all become educated and educate others about these opportunities in an effort to stifle the opioid epidemic that looms over our country.

Reader Julianna Dole of California is about to enter her first year of graduate school to earn a doctorate in occupational therapy.