According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), there are two main components of professionally led alcohol treatment: talk therapy and medication. Both are available online with Monument. Monument will ask a series of questions to better understand your history of alcohol use, including the following:
How often and how much you drinkWhether you’ve tried more than once to curb or stop your drinkingWhether you’ve continued drinking despite it affecting your relationshipsWhether your usual number of drinks has less of an effect on you than beforeWhether you have more than once been in situations where you are at an increased risk for being hurt, like having unsafe sex or driving, during or after drinkingWhether you’ve experienced symptoms of withdrawal, including trouble sleeping, sweating, nausea, and restlessness
Monument will use these answers to evaluate the severity of your alcohol use disorder.
Therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder
If you choose a Monument plan that includes therapy, you will be matched with a licensed therapist and meet with them weekly or biweekly over audio or video. Your therapist will develop therapy sessions around your treatment goals, whether you want to moderate your drinking or stop altogether. Monument therapists will use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and motivational interviewing in their sessions with you. According to the American Psychological Association, both of these therapies can help you accomplish the following:
Motivate you to stop drinkingLearn what situations trigger youFoster new coping skills for situations that threaten your recoveryTeach you how to develop support systems in your life
You can also send your therapist text messages at any time through the platform’s built-in messaging feature. Messaging is asynchronous, so there will be delays between when you send the messages and when you receive a response.
Medication for Alcohol Use Disorder
If you choose a Monument plan that offers medication, you will first have a call with a physician to evaluate and discuss whether it’s safe and appropriate for you. Monument physicians can prescribe naltrexone and disulfiram, two medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help curb or stop drinking in certain people. Naltrexone, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, blocks the effect of opioid receptors and aims to decrease alcohol cravings. The FDA states that it first approved naltrexone in 2006. Disulfiram, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, prevents the body from breaking down alcohol, causing symptoms that include severe nausea, sweating, headaches, and vomiting. This effect is meant to encourage those on the medication not to drink. The NIAAA notes that disulfiram was first approved by the FDA in 1949. If you are prescribed either medication, Monument recommends scheduling follow-up appointments with your physician every four weeks. You can also send them messages at any time through the online portal.
Support Groups for Alcohol Use Disorder
Every Monument member can join therapist-led support groups. The groups cater to a variety of topics that relate to or impact your recovery, including the following:
StressAnxietyMindfulnessSelf-esteemFamily and relationshipsSobrietyModerationGriefDepressionTraumaParenting
Each session lasts an hour and you can choose whether or not to turn on your camera.
Community Forum for Alcohol Use Disorder
The community forum on Monument is a place for you to share and interact with other individuals working toward recovery. It looks and operates similarly to the apps Discord and Slack, with channels for introductions, general support, and resources. In every channel, you can see how many people are online at the top of the page. When you join the community forum, you’ll be assigned a random nickname that you can edit if you wish. Community Membership Free
Access to Monument support groups and its community forum
Physician Care $9.99 per month, plus $45 for initial appointment
Initial appointment with a physician who can prescribe naltrexone or disulfiram if medically necessaryCan send unlimited messages to your physician at any time (Monument recommends checking in at least every four weeks)Access to Monument’s support groups and community forumFollow-up appointments cost $45 eachYou will be charged when you schedule the appointmentMonument recommends follow-up appointments every 90 days
Total Care (Biweekly) $149 per month
Includes everything in the Physician Care plan, plus two therapy appointments per month, via audio-only or video
Total Care (Weekly) $249 per month
Includes everything in the Physician Care plan, plus four therapy appointments per month, via audio-only or video
Monument plans are only available to people residing in states where it has licensed providers:
ArizonaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutFloridaGeorgiaIowaKentuckyMarylandMississippiNew JerseyNew YorkOhioOregonPennsylvaniaSouth CarolinaTexasVirginiaWashingtonWashington D.C.
Monument accepts insurance plans from Aetna, Oscar, Optum UnitedHealthcare, Oxford Health Plans, Medicare, and Cigna. Once you create an account, you can submit your insurance information to Monument from your patient portal to see whether your insurance will cover any of its paid plans. Monument does not offer financial aid.
Engaged in ongoing independent researchMystery shopped each of the brandsContacted brands’ customer service teams to ask questions and gauge responsivenessConsulted six leading psychologists and psychiatristsBecame customers of online therapy providers ourselvesReviewed academic research about the efficacy of online therapy versus in-person therapy
You can also reach out to the SAMHSA National Helpline at 800-662-HELP (4357). The SAMHSA help line is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service for individuals facing mental or substance abuse disorders.
