Charles George VAMC/Asheville - Substance Abuse Treatment Program

They treat people at inpatient residential, inpatient hospital, outpatient, telemedicine and detox. Outpatient keeps you at home and working, and a residential stay takes you out of the place you were using in.

They detox from opioids, alcohol, benzodiazepines, cocaine and methamphetamines, so the first stage and the treatment after it can happen in one place rather than across two trips to Asheville.

They prescribe buprenorphine and naltrexone. Medication and counseling together is the standard of care for opioid use rather than an either or, and not every place near Asheville offers both.

Veterans are one of the 6 groups they offer a program for.

There are 8 more within a short drive of Asheville, so this does not have to be the only call you make.

They treat mental health alongside the substance use, so both sides are handled in one place. Ask whether the psychiatric side is on site, because in Asheville that is the part that varies.

Being sent rather than choosing to go changes the paperwork more than it changes the treatment. Missing sessions has consequences beyond the clinical ones, which is a real difference in practice. Ask who signs the completion paperwork and how long it takes.

Involvement is common, and so are limits on it, set by the person being treated. Family sessions are normally held in evenings or at weekends, because the people expected at them are working. If you are calling about someone else, say so at the start and the conversation will fit.