South Middlesex Times

Rutgers-led research has shown that incorporating Mindfulness Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) into standard opioid addiction treatment can significantly improve outcomes. The study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, revealed that MORE reduced program dropout rates by 59 percent and relapses by 42 percent.

Nina Cooperman, associate professor of psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the first author of the study, emphasized the potential impact of enhancing treatment protocols. She stated, "Better treatment protocols could save thousands of lives per year, and the data we have from our pilot study and this phase II trial suggest mindfulness training may create a genuinely better treatment protocol."

Mindfulness training, a key component of MORE, helps individuals with opioid use disorder to refocus their attention on the present moment. Cooperman explained, "Opioid use disorder changes your brain so that opioid use becomes the only thing that feels rewarding. MORE helps people retrain themselves to find healthy experiences rewarding again by focusing mindfully on the taste of a meal, the beauty of a landscape or the smell of a flower."

Moreover, the study found that MORE not only assists in managing cravings but also plays a role in reducing chronic pain. Patients who received MORE reported a 10 percent decrease in pain over the 16 weeks of the study. Cooperman highlighted the importance of this aspect, noting the initial significant chronic pain experienced by most participants.

Cooperman and her team are now focusing on larger studies to further validate the effectiveness of MORE and refine protocols for real-world implementation. She expressed, "The findings from this study suggest MORE really can improve outcomes for a lot of people in substance abuse treatment."

The success of mindfulness training in enhancing opioid addiction treatment provides hope for the future of substance abuse programs, indicating that a more holistic approach may lead to better results for individuals struggling with opioid use disorder.