Addiction Psychiatry attended Rutgers Clinical Trial Awareness Day. Representatives from our division spoke with guests about current projects: A randomized clinical trial of smoking cessation for schizophrenia (PTSC-S), principal investigator Marc L. Steinberg, Ph.D., and Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), principal investigator Nina Cooperman, Psy.D. Representatives also spoke with guests about the division’s related interests in mental health and tobacco use, smoking cessation, substance use, and community education for naloxone/opioid overdose.
On Tuesday, November 19th, over 150 individuals gathered at Seton Hall Law School for Integrity House's first symposium: Progressive Responses to the Opioid Epidemic. More than a dozen experts from the medical, legal and treatment fields - all doing remarkable and cutting-edge work in addictions - discussed harm reduction, innovative treatment approaches and making treatment mainstream. The symposium also included keynote presentations from New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, and Integrity House Medical Director Tony Rajiv Juneja, MD. Throughout the day, audience members asked meaningful questions, engaged in thought provoking conversations, and even participated in a brief mindfulness exercise lead by Dr. Petros Levounis.
Dr. Jill Williams, MD was a member the “Making Addiction Treatment Mainstream” panel.
Williams JM. Challenges and Future Directions for Addressing Tobacco Use in Behavioral Health Settings. Invited Keynote Speaker.
NYS Behavioral Health Tobacco Summit: Recognizing Success-Restoring Urgency. New York City. May 16, 2019
Levens, SM, Sagui-Henson SJ, Padro M, Martin LE, Trucco EM, Cooperman, NA, Baldwin AS, Kassianos, AP, Mdege ND. The effects of positive affect and episodic future thinking on temporal discounting, and healthy food demand and choice among overweight and obese individuals: Protocol for a pilot 2x2 factorial randomized controlled study. JMIR Research Protocols, 2019 Mar 20;8(3):e12265
Steinberg ML. Harms and Benefits of Stigmatizing Smoking. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntx253
Williams JM, Poulsen R, Chaguturu V, Tobia A and Palmeri B. Evaluation of an Online Residency Training in Tobacco Use Disorder. American Journal on Addictions. In Press, 2019 DOI: 10.1111/ajad.12885
Brunette M, Williams J and Ferron J. Digital Therapeutics for Tobacco Use Disorder in People with Serious Mental health Conditions. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 2019; Vol 45, Supplement 2, April 2019. S95-96
Cooperman NA, Rizvi SL., Hughes, CD, Williams, JM. Field test of a dialectical behavior therapy skills training-based intervention for smoking cessation and opioid relapse prevention in methadone treatment. Journal of Dual Diagnosis, 2019 Jan 15:1-7. doi: 10.1080/15504263.2018.1548719.
Whitton AE, Green AI, Pizzagalli DA, Roth RM, Williams JM, Brunette MF. Potent Dopamine D2 Antagonists Block the Reward-Enhancing Effects of Nicotine in Smokers With Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull. 2019 Jan 22;. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sby185. PubMed PMID: 30690638
Baker AL, Borland R, Bonevski B, Segan C, Turner A, Brophy L, McCarter K, Kelly PJ, Williams JM, Baird D, Attia J, Sweeney R, White SL, Filia S, Castle D. "Quitlink"-A Randomized Controlled Trial of Peer Worker Facilitated Quitline Support for Smokers Receiving Mental Health Services: Study Protocol. Front Psychiatry. 2019;10:124. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00124.
Laura and John Arnold Foundation. Emergency Department Peer Recovery Support for Opioid Overdose Survivors. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an emergency department-based program that is designed to link individuals with an opioid overdose and naloxone reversal with medication-assisted treatment (MAT). $1,548,386. 5/1/19-4/30/22. PI: Cooperman, NA
Under the mentorship of Dr. Jill Williams, recent graduate Kiran Ali completed her George H. Cook Scholars original basic research project. The George H. Cook Scholars Program is an independent research and senior honors thesis program for Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences undergraduates.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201900272
Opioid users, chronic pain sufferers may experience fewer relapses and greater well-being
Modesta (Maud) Alobawone
October 14, 2019
Mindfulness-based interventions could help people dependent on opioids increase their self-awareness and self-control over cravings
People suffering from opioid addiction and chronic pain may have fewer cravings and less pain if they use both mindfulness techniques and medication for opioid dependence, according to Rutgers and other researchers.
The study, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, examined the effects of mindfulness and methadone therapy on 30 patients with opioid addiction and chronic pain. Mindfulness is the meditative practice of focusing on the present moment and accepting one’s thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations, without judgment.
The findings showed that those who received methadone and a mindfulness training-based intervention were 1.3 times better at controlling their cravings and had significantly greater improvements in pain, stress, and positive emotions, even though they were aware of more cravings than those who only received standard methadone treatment and counseling.
“Methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) has been an effective form of medication treatment for opioid use disorder,” said Associate Professor Nina Cooperman, a clinical psychologist in the Division of Addiction Psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “However, nearly half of individuals on MMT continue to use opioids during treatment or relapse with six months.”
Cooperman said many of those with opioid addictions experience chronic pain, anxiety and depression while on methadone maintenance, which is why mindfulness-based, non-drug interventions are promising treatments.
The researchers said mindfulness-based interventions could help people dependent on opioids increase their self-awareness and self-control over cravings and be less reactive to emotional and physical pain. Individuals with an opioid addiction could also be taught to change their negative thoughts and savor pleasant events, which may help them to regulate their emotions and experience more enjoyment.
Associate Professor Anna Kline at the Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School co-authored the study, which included researchers at the University of Utah.
https://news.rutgers.edu/mindfulness-may-reduce-opioid-cravings-study-finds/20191014#.XaXQh9JKi72
The findings highlight the need for more emphasis on treatment for e-cigarette cessation
By Patti Verbanas
May 21, 2019
Most people who smoke e-cigarettes want to quit and many have tried to reduce their use, according to Rutgers researchers.
The study, published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, is the first to examine e-cigarette users’ past attempts and current intentions to quit e-cigarettes in a representative sample of adult e-cigarette users in the United States.
About 10 million U.S. adults smoke e-cigarettes. Most of these users also smoke traditional cigarettes, though many use them to try to quit traditional cigarettes.
The study found that more than 60 percent of e-cigarette users want to quit using e-cigarettes and 16 percent plan to quit in the next month. More than 25 percent have tried to quit using e-cigarettes in the past year.
“Most of the discussion about e-cigarettes has focused on the relative harm as compared to traditional cigarettes, the efficacy of e-cigarettes as a cessation device, and the alarming increase of their use in children. In addition to those issues, our data suggests that e-cigarette users do not want to use these devices forever. Eventually, they want to stop using e-cigarettes the same way a traditional smoker wants to quit smoking cigarettes,” said study co-author Marc Steinberg, an associate professor of psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the director of the school’s Tobacco Research and Intervention lab.
Researchers created online webinar‐based course for teaching psychiatry residents about tobacco use
April 23, 2019
Psychiatrists often disregard their patients’ smoking even though tobacco use accounts for 50 percent of deaths among people with mental illness, a Rutgers-led study finds.
The researchers developed a web-based training program for psychiatry residents on how to assess and intervene with tobacco addiction in patients, according to the study in The American Journal on Addictions.
“Teaching psychiatry residents is a great way to change this national problem,” said lead author Jill M. Williams, director of the Division of Addiction Psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “We know psychiatrists and behavioral health providers are not doing enough, and teaching the next generation of providers is an important step in increasing access to tobacco treatment services. This study shows that the live educational activities we have been delivering to professionals for years can be modified to a webinar format to reach bigger audiences like psychiatry residents.”...https://news.rutgers.edu/rutgers-develops-new-tool-help-psychiatrists-encourage-patients-quit-smoking/20190417?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=rutgerstoday
In the past decade, the number of people overdosing on prescription opioids and heroin in New Jersey and across the United States has risen steeply. Between 2016 and 2017 alone, the number of nonfatal overdoses in New Jersey rose from about 8,300 to more than 10,000.
To bring these numbers down, New Jersey launched a program in 2016 to connect overdose survivors with addiction treatment programs.
Nina Cooperman, an associate professor of psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is leading a study of the program to understand the effectiveness of its approach for treatment linkage and recovery. She says states across the nation are under intense pressure to find ways to stem the opioid epidemic and its high rate of overdoses.
http://www.support.rutgers.edu/s/896/Foundation/GiveStories.aspx?sid=896&gid=1&pgid=9357
Laura and John Arnold Foundation. Pilot study of Emergency Department Peer Recovery Support for Opioid Overdose Survivors. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an emergency department-based program that is designed to link individuals with an opioid overdose and naloxone reversal with medication-assisted treatment (MAT). $200,000. 2/1/18-4/30/19. PI: Cooperman, NA
R21AT010109 NCCIH/NIDA. Mindfulness Oriented Recovery Enhancement as an Adjunct to Methadone Treatment for Opioid Use and Chronic Pain. The purpose of this project is to conduct a pilot trial of mindfulness oriented recovery enhancement in methadone treatment for opioid relapse prevention and chronic pain management. $200,000. 9/20/18-8/31/19. PIs: Cooperman, NA and Kline, A
Marc L. Steinberg, Ph.D. became Director, Doctoral Psychology Internship Program at Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care - Piscataway
Faculty and staff from the Division of Addiction Psychiatry were in Washington, DC, this week to present at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's meeting of the Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health, which comprises 21 members from eight federal agencies, including the United States Surgeon General, who chairs the committee, and five public members. Jill M. Williams, MD, professor and chief of addiction psychiatry, along with Deidre Stenard, a peer counselor with NJ CHOICES, a program of the division, presented during an afternoon session, "Notes From the Fields: Promising Practices." Patricia Dooley Budsock, MA, LPC, CTTS, mental health clinician, also was in attendance.
The meeting was focused on “Behavioral Health and Tobacco Control,” with the goal of identifying federal actions to address disparities in tobacco use among behavioral health populations.
Williams JM. Tobacco. Invited Speaker. Presented at the Addictions and Their Treatment Course. American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry 29th Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium. Bonita Springs, FL. Dec 2018.
Williams JM. Updates in the treatment of Tobacco Use Disorder. Invited Speaker. Advanced Addiction Psychopharmacology Course. American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry 29th Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium. Bonita Springs, FL. Dec 2018.
Williams JM. Invited Panelist and Speaker- Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health on Behavioral Health and Tobacco Control. Attended by Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Jerome M Adams, MD, MPH, and representatives from CDC, USDHHS, SAMHSA, FDA, NIH. June 14, 2018.
Williams JM. Addressing Tobacco in Individuals with a Behavioral Health Condition. Invited Lecture at Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. Minneapolis, Minnesota. June 6, 2018
Rojewski, AM, Baily, S, Bernstein, SL, Cooperman, NA, Gritz,E, Karam-Hage, MA, Piper, ME, Warren,GW on behalf of the Comorbidities Workgroup of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) Treatment Network. Individual and systemic barriers to treating tobacco use in clinical settings. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 2018 Jun 15.
Steinberg ML, Lu S-E, Williams JM. Varenicline for smoking reduction in smokers not yet ready to quit: A double-blind, proof of concept randomized clinical trial. Addictive Behaviors,. 2018 Sep;84:20-26. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.03.026. Epub 2018 Mar 26.
Williams JM. Will removal of black box warning get psychiatrists to move on tobacco? Am J Addict. 2018 Jan;27(1):40-41. doi: 10.1111/ajad.12669. PMID: 29283491z
Cooperman NA, Lu, S. Richter KP, Bernstein SL, Williams JM. Pilot study of a tailored smoking cessation intervention for individuals in treatment for opioid dependence.Nicotine Tob Res. 2017 Aug 30. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntx189.
Baker AL, Richmond R, Kay-Lambkin FJ, Filia SL, Castle D, Williams JM, Lewin TJ, Clark V, Callister R, Palazzi K.Randomised controlled trial of a healthy lifestyle intervention among smokers with psychotic disorders: Outcomes to 36 months. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2018 Mar;52(3):239-252. doi: 10.1177/0004867417714336
Cooperman, NA, Richter, KP, Bernstein, SL, Rizvi, SL, & Williams, JM. A path towards developing a smoking cessation intervention that will address the needs of smokers in opiate dependence treatment. National Conference on Tobacco or Health. Austin, TX. March, 2017.
Cooperman, NA. Personality Disorders and Substance Use. Grand Rounds presentation to the Jersey Shore Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, Neptune, NJ, May, 2017.
Cooperman, NA. Mental Health and Tobacco Use. Invited presentation at 21st Annual Family Medicine Conference and Tobacco Coalition Symposium, Little Rock AR, October, 2017.
Cooperman NA. Current research on cigarette smoking among people with HIV. Current Addiction Reports, 2016; 3(1), 19-26.
Fitzgerald, S., Faseru, B., Mussulman, L., Howser, E., Nahvi, S., Cooperman, NA, Goggin, K., Richter, KP. Improving quality of care for hospitalized smokers with HIV: Tobacco dependence treatment referral and utilization. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 2016; 42(5): 219-24.
Rojewski, AM, Baldassarri,S, Cooperman, NA, Gritz,E, Leone, F, Piper, ME, Toll, BA, Warren,GW. on behalf of the Comorbidities Workgroup of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) Treatment Network. Exploring issues of comorbid conditions in people who smoke. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 2016 Aug;18(8):1684-96. *Editor’s choice article.
Cooperman, NA, Lu, S, Richter, KP, Bernstein, SL, & Williams, JM. Influence of psychiatric and personality disorders on smoking cessation among smokers in opiate dependence treatment. Journal of Dual Diagnosis, 2016 Apr-Jun;12(2):118-28.
Cooperman, NA, Rizvi, SL, Hughes, CD, Williams, JM. Piloting a dialectical behavior therapy skills training based smoking cessation intervention among opiate dependent women in methadone treatment. Poster presented at 50th Annual Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Convention. New York, NY. October, 2016
Cooperman, NA. A Journey Towards Developing a Smoking Cessation Intervention to Address the Needs of Smokers in Opiate Dependence Treatment—Previous Work, Current Status, and Future Directions. Grand Rounds presentation to the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Piscataway, NJ, December, 2016
On Wednesday, November 11, 2015, the CHOICES team was honored for their 10th Anniversary, at Pierre’s of South Brunswick. Over 50 people attended the luncheon, including community partners and stakeholders from around the state, as well as faculty and staff from Rutgers University. The program featured speakers including Margaret Molnar, Christopher Kosseff, Robert Kley as well as program founders Dr. Jill Williams and Marie Verna.
It was a wonderful day to honor the accomplishments that the team has made over the past ten years, which includes meeting with over 33, 000 consumers throughout the state of New Jersey. These meetings entail education about tobacco as well as personal testimonies of quitting smoking. During these visits, each consumer also receives informational handouts to take with them, including health consequences of smoking and treatment resources that are available. They are also afforded the opportunity to have the carbon monoxide in their breath measured, and given feedback about their individual results. The CHOICES team strives to improve the health of mental health consumers throughout the state of NJ.
Cooperman NA, Richter, KP, Bernstein, SL, Steinberg, ML & Williams, JM. Determining smoking cessation related information, motivation, and behavioral skills among opiate dependent smokers in methadone treatment. Substance Use and Misuse, 2015; 50(5):566-81.
Cooperman NA, Lu, S, Richter, KP, Bernstein, SL & Williams, JM. Mental disorders are associated with smoking abstinence goals and cessation attempts among individuals in opiate dependence treatment. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, Philadelphia, PA, February, 2015.
Cooperman NA. Behavioral Tobacco Dependence Treatment for Smokers with Mental Illness. Invited presentation at the National Conference on Tackling Tobacco Use in Vulnerable Populations. Bethesda, MD, October, 2015.
Legacy has published a new report entitled "A Hidden Epidemic: Tobacco Use and Mental Illness."
The publication seeks to call attention to the issue of the high prevalence of tobacco use and nicotine dependence among people with mental illnesses and to highlight barriers to effective tobacco-cessation efforts to help people with mental illnesses quit. This publication also features examples of five projects that demonstrate how organizations across America are addressing tobacco-related disparities faced by people with mental illnesses. Available for download from the Legacy website.