Enhancing Addiction Treatment Through Psychoeducation

Conditions

• Substance Use Disorders

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

18 Years - 65 Years

Healthy Volunteers

Not accepted

Interventions

• Installing the Metacognium software app — OTHER
  Participants in the NIPA+TAU group will be sent two, URL's (one for iOS and one for Android) for installing the Metacognium software app, which hosts the four NIPA sessions. Participants will be provided with unique ID for registering and using the program on the Metacognium app. The NIPA sessions will be locked until participants have completed their baseline assessment. Once participants complete each NIPA session, they will receive an email and/or text notifying them that the next session is unlocked and that they can proceed to complete it.
• Continue treatment as usual — OTHER
  Continue your treatment schedule as usual with the for 4 weeks.

Study Details

Addiction is a brain disorder characterized by a broad range of both apparent and subtle cognitive impairments in attention, memory, executive functions, and decision-making. These cognitive problems are clinically significant and may contribute to poor treatment outcomes in people with Substance Use Disorders (SUDs), such as a high risk of dropout, low treatment compliance, and shorter periods of abstinence. Studies on cognitive function in SUDs reveal that chronic use of drugs and alcohol can also negatively affect another crucial component of cognition: awareness, or metacognition. Metacognition is defined as an individual's ability to perceive and understand their cognitive functions and use this understanding to regulate them. One of the key consequences of metacognitive impairments is the lack of insight in people with SUDs, which adversely affects treatment outcomes. Substance users with poor metacognition are more reluctant to initiate or continue treatment and are more likely to deny their cognitive problems. Therefore, improving metacognition may remove or reduce motivational barriers to invest time and effort in the recovery process in general, and in the brain recovery process specifically. Despite the importance of neurocognition and metacognition in the recovery process for substance users, there is a dearth of interventions designed to target these functions.

Key Dates

Start date

Jul 1, 2026

Status verified

Jun 2026

Primary completion

Apr 30, 2027

Completion

Apr 30, 2027

Study Design

Enrollment

40 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Arms

• Experimental: The intervention condition
  The intervention condition consists of TAU plus four \~20-minute long NIPA sessions, administered a week apart (NIPA+TAU). Participants in both intervention and control conditions would undergo two survey assessments on REDCap, one at baseline and one at the end of the intervention for the NIPA+TAU condition or at the end of week 4 for the TAU condition.
• Placebo Comparator: Control condition
  The control condition consists of treatment as usual (TAU) consisting of medication treatment (buprenorphine) and group or individual behavior therapy. Participants in both intervention and control conditions would undergo two survey assessments on REDCap, one at baseline and one at the end of the intervention for the NIPA+TAU condition or at the end of week 4 for the TAU condition.

Primary Outcome Measure

Feasibility of recruiting for the Neuroscience-Informed Psychoeducation for Addiction (NIPA) intervention [ Time Frame: Baseline through 4 week intervention ]

Central Contacts

• Kayla McLean
  (804) 828-8402
  [email protected]

Locations (1)

Find similar trials in Richmond, VA

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