Journal
JOURNAL OF CONSULTING AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Volume 87, Issue 10, Pages 927-940Publisher
AMER PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC
DOI: 10.1037/ccp0000390
Keywords
mindfulness; opioid; pain; positive emotion; nondual awareness
Categories
Funding
- Fahs Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Grant [R01DA042033]
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health [R61AT009296]
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Objective: Despite the heightened urgency of the current prescription opioid crisis, few psychotherapies have been evaluated for chronic pain patients receiving long-term opioid analgesics. Current psychological pain treatments focus primarily on ameliorating negative affective processes, yet basic science suggests that risk for opioid misuse is linked with a dearth of positive affect. Interventions that modulate positive psychological processes may produce therapeutic benefits among patients with opioid-treated chronic pain. The aim of this study was to conduct a theory-driven mechanistic analysis of proximal outcome data from a Stage 2 randomized controlled trial of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), an integrative intervention designed to promote positive psychological health. Method: Patients with opioid-treated chronic pain (N = 95; age = 56.8 +/- 11.7; 66% female) were randomized to 8 weeks of therapist-led MORE or support group (SG) interventions. A latent positive psychological health variable comprised of positive affect, meaning in life, and self-transcendence measures was examined as a mediator of the effect of MORE on changes in pain severity at posttreatment and opioid misuse risk by 3-month follow-up. Results: Participants in MORE reported significantly greater reductions in pain severity by posttreatment (p = .03) and opioid misuse risk by 3-month follow-up (p = .03) and significantly greater increases in positive psychological health (p < .001) than SG participants. Increases in positive psychological health mediated the effect of MORE on pain severity by posttreatment (p = .048), which in turn predicted decreases in opioid misuse risk by follow-up (p = .02). Conclusions: Targeting positive psychological mechanisms via MORE and other psychological interventions may reduce opioid misuse risk among chronic pain patients receiving long-term opioid therapy.
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