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Mindfulness-Based Intervention Found to Help Reduce Cravings in Female OUD Patients
A behavioral intervention that integrates mindfulness, emotion regulation, and savoring of natural rewards could help reduce relapse rates in women receiving medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), according to new research from Rutgers University.
Findings from the study were published in the journal Explore.
The intervention, known as Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), was developed by Eric Garland, PhD, LCSW. Dr Garland is distinguished endowed chair in research in the University of Utah College of Social Work, as well as director of the college’s Center of Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development (C-MIIND). The MORE intervention is focused on the following 3 therapeutic processes:
- Mindfulness;
- Reappraisal of thoughts to disengage from negative emotions and addictive behaviors; and
- Savoring naturally rewarding experiences, such time spent with loved ones or in nature.
With previous studies showing that women reporting more intense opioid cravings and greater inability to control drug urges than men, Rutgers researchers studied 9 women in residential treatment for OUD who had received medications and completed an 8-week MORE intervention once a week for 2 hours as part of their treatment. Before and during the MORE intervention period, participants completed emotion regulation questionnaires, and had MRI brain scans while listening to a 10-minute guided MORE meditation and viewing a picture of an outdoor garden.
“The results show that a single 10-minute guided MORE meditation without any prior meditation experience immediately improved participants’ mood,” study lead author Suchismita Ray, an associate professor at Rutgers School of Health Professions, said in a news release. “The 8-week MORE intervention boosted their emotional awareness and strengthened their impulse control—factors that are important in preventing relapse.”
The study also found that the MORE intervention resulted in significantly increased communication between brain regions that may help patients to control negative emotions and drug cravings. The finding could indicate that individuals experiencing stress or opioid cravings could improve their mood and reduce their likelihood of relapse by immediately practicing a 10-minute MORE meditation, Ray said.
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