The mission of the Institute for Research, Education and Training in Addictions (IRETA) is to help people respond effectively to substance use and related problems. IRETA is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit located in Pittsburgh, PA.
For many people, commonly used addiction treatments are not effective
Addiction services tend to be disjointed, and patients rarely receive continuous coordinated care. Physicians and nurses often receive only limited training in school or on the job about addiction. The vast majority of people with addiction never receive specialty treatment.
People with addiction often end up trapped in a health system that fails to promote recovery or don’t even make it into the health system. If we could improve the health system and change attitudes towards addiction and people who use substances, that would provide the best opportunity for helping many people.
Providing accurate and credible information about addiction
There’s a lot we don’t know about effective treatment for addiction, but we do know that certain strategies are more effective than others. The same is true about the prevention of addiction — we don’t know everything, but we do know certain strategies are more effective.
All of this means there’s a need for quality improvement across systems. That’s where IRETA comes in.
We educate, we evaluate, and we guide to powerful change
At IRETA, we support medical professionals and institutions by giving accurate and credible information about addiction. We provide professional development webinars and training, and we consult with health providers to evaluate what they’re doing and identify how to improve.
