Overview

The Institute for Research, Education and Training in Addictions (IRETA) is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit located in Pittsburgh, PA. Our mission is to help people respond effectively to substance use and related problems.

What We Do

IRETA is a nonprofit geared toward improving individual and system-level responses to addiction. We take a boots-on-the-ground approach to problem solving and we don’t mind if they get muddy.

Broadly, IRETA offers three types of services: we educate, we evaluate, and we guide. Our services are modular (that is, they can be used independently or together), but the nexus of all three is where the most powerful changes occur.

What Problems Do We Solve?

For many clients, addiction treatment is not effective.

  • Addiction services tend to be disjointed and clients rarely receive continuous coordinated care.
  • Individualized care based on a menu of research-based options is the exception rather than the rule.
  • Many treatment providers don’t have systems for self-measurement.

Healthcare systems don’t know enough or do enough to address substance use.

  • Health providers constantly intercept patients with substance use disorders who need help.
  • Physicians and nurses receive limited training in school or on the job about addiction.
  • The vast majority of people with addiction never receive specialty addiction treatment; the health system is our best opportunity for helping them.

People with addiction often land in the criminal justice system, which often fails to promote recovery.

  • Most professionals in the criminal justice field are not trained to think of addiction as a health issue.
  • The criminal justice system has difficulty coordinating with health and human service providers.
  • People with addiction and a history of incarceration often need a lot of help; professionals in the criminal justice system need help helping them.

These problems point to a need for quality improvement across systems. That’s what we do.