Mindfulness and motivational coaching to help people on methadone quit smoking and reduce other drug use
Official title: Motivational Interviewing and Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement for Tobacco Dependence and Other Drug use in Methadone Treatment
Funded at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences · NIH-11364696 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This program offers group mindfulness training plus motivational coaching for people on methadone to help them stop smoking and cut down other drug use.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Newark, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 30, 2022 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $731,495 |
| NIH project number | 4R01DA057631-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11364696 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults receiving methadone maintenance who smoke cigarettes and who are interested in reducing tobacco and other drug use are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not in methadone treatment, who do not smoke, or who prefer medication-only approaches without group behavioral support may not benefit from this program.
What this research studies
If you join, you will be invited while in methadone treatment to attend an eight-week group program that teaches mindfulness, ways to reframe difficult emotions, and skills to savor positive experiences. The program combines those skills with motivational counseling to boost your confidence to quit tobacco and reduce other drug use. Researchers will follow participants over time to track cigarette smoking, use of other drugs, pain, mood, and reward-related symptoms. The goal is to address common pain and distress that can drive continued substance use and support lasting abstinence.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could help people on methadone stop smoking, lower relapse to other drugs, and reduce pain and emotional distress.
How similar studies have gone: Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement and motivational interviewing have shown promise separately for single-substance problems, but this combined approach has not been tested for treating tobacco plus other drug use together in methadone patients.
Where this research is happening
-
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
Newark, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Cooperman, Nina — Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Cooperman, Nina
Related research
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.