Results from a 6-year clinical trial of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) funded by the U.S. Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) were recently published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the most widely read psychiatric journal in the world and one of the 100 Most Influential Journals in Biology & Medicine over the last 100 Years. In the article, entitled “Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement for Veterans and Military Personnel on Long-Term Opioid Therapy for Chronic Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” my colleagues and I showed that MORE was superior to supportive psychotherapy through an 8-month follow-up in reducing chronic pain symptoms and opioid use among 230 veterans and military personnel. MORE reduced opioid use by 20.7%, compared with a 3.9% reduction in supportive psychotherapy.
MORE also reduced illicit substance use, anhedonia, catastrophizing, craving, and opioid cue-reactivity and increased positive emotions to a greater extent than supportive psychotherapy. In summary, MORE facilitated opioid dose reduction while preserving adequate pain control and preventing mood disturbances, suggesting that MORE can support safe opioid tapering among patients who are interested in reducing their opioid use. These findings replicate results from another clinical trial of MORE published in JAMA Internal Medicine demonstrating MORE’s efficacy for reducing chronic pain and opioid misuse. This study was highlighted in the AJP Editor’s Spotlight.
