Mindfulness and motivational coaching to help people on methadone quit smoking and reduce other drug use

Motivational Interviewing and Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement for Tobacco Dependence and Other Drug use in Methadone Treatment

NIH-funded research Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences · NIH-11364696

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 typeR01 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionRutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Newark, UNITED STATES)
Project IDNIH-11364696 on NIH RePORTER

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.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Adults receiving methadone maintenance who smoke cigarettes and who are interested in reducing tobacco and other drug use are the ideal candidates.

Not a fit: 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.

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 performed: 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

Newark, UNITED STATES

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.