Funding Agency: NIDA, NIH
Collaborators: Amanda Bunting, PhD – NYU and Tanya Renn, PhD – FSU (Principal Investigators)
Nearly all (97%) persons in methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) are estimated to have experienced a traumatic event and the prevalence of PTSD among patients in MMT is as high as 53%. PTSD can complicate MMT outcomes such as treatment disruption, dropout, and increased use of substances during treatment such as opioids and stimulants. The THRIVE study seeks to improve substance use and mental health outcomes for people with opioid use disorder by adapting PTSD treatment for people in MMT. The study aims to adapt and test an evidence-based intervention — the Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation with Narrative Therapy (STAIR-NT) intervention — focusing on trauma for individuals in MMT. The study included a formative phase to adapt the intervention to the needs of our patients and clinical setting. Feedback on the intervention model was collected through focus groups with our clinicians and individual interviews with enrolled patients. As part of the study design, we completed a small pilot study with 10 patients to test the intervention for feasibility and acceptability before launching a randomized controlled trial which is scheduled to commence in August of 2024.
Our study was designed to give voice to the communities we serve to ensure our approach centers on compassion and has broader implications for helping in the treatment of PTSD and trauma-related care. Input from our program participants was prioritized early in the intervention adaptation process so as to learn and collect data about best practices that will be meaningful to the communities we serve. The research methods we employed will not only provide the best evidence about the intervention’s potential impact on mental health, but also about the implementation process and the potential for the intervention’s scalability and capacity for sustainability. A model of healthcare practice that can be generalizable and implemented widely in opioid treatment programs to treat PTSD has the potential to remove obstacles to healthcare access in communities with substantial mental health disparities.