Thriveworks, a mental health company, has partnered with opioid addiction treatment provider Ophelia, the companies told MedCity News exclusively.
Lynchburg, Virginia-based Thriveworks offers individual therapy, couples counseling, child and teen therapy, family therapy and psychiatry. Patients can access its services in person and virtually, and the company accepts insurance and self-pay options. New York City-based Ophelia works with insurers and offers medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder, as well as counseling and behavioral health support.
Through the partnership, Thriveworks can refer its patients to Ophelia if they show signs or report having an opioid use disorder. And if Ophelia patients require more extensive mental health care, they can be referred to Thriveworks for therapy and psychiatry services.
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“It’s obviously well known and well established that patients who have opioid use and addiction problems also have mental health problems. … We are identifying a good number of our patients and clients that are struggling with this and we need partnerships with great clinicians and great organizations that are there for us,” said Dr. Dan Frogel, CEO of Thriveworks, in an interview.
Ophelia’s founder and CEO, Zack Gray, echoed Frogel’s comments.
“We were formed to solve a very specific and acute problem, which is the problem of opioid use disorder. … Up until this point, we’ve built a program that only treats patients with a primary diagnosis of opioid use disorder,” Gray said in an interview. “Two thirds of our patients do have co-occurring psychiatric conditions, and we treat those patients to the best of our ability with pharmacotherapy and counseling. But certainly we’re not a robust mental health provider and many of our patients want and would benefit from more comprehensive care.”
Frogel and Gray noted that therapists and clinicians don’t always know when a patient is struggling with an addiction. Gray said he started Ophelia in 2019 after losing his girlfriend to overdose. His girlfriend had been looking for medication-assisted treatment to help with withdrawals and visited several doctors, but didn’t get a prescription because she was uncomfortable telling them that she had an addiction.
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To help identify patients in need of addiction support, Thriveworks has been training its clinicians. However, Gray said the most important thing is that patients know what is available to them.
“Most people struggling with opioid addiction don’t want to be struggling with opioid addiction,” he said. “They don’t seek care because they perceive the solution to look like a rehab program that’s going to take them away from their life and family and expose them to the public. But they really do want access to this treatment. You don’t even have to ask them directly, ‘Do you have an opioid use disorder?’ If you just let these patients know that there is an option available, they will often take it.”
Other companies providing mental health support include Talkspace and Talkiatry, while other companies providing opioid use disorder support include Bicycle Health and Boulder Care.
Photo: metamorworks, Getty Images