Overview
Rationale: It is well established that Substance Use Disorders (SUD) have severe health consequences. Despite behavioral and pharmacological treatment options, relapse rates remain high. In particular, for non-opioid drugs, such as amphetamines, cocaine, base-coke and cannabis, established, evidence-based pharmacological options to reduce craving, to substitute substance use or to enforce abstinence are lacking. Therefore, there is a need for effective interventions for patients who use non-opioid drugs to reach and maintain long-term abstinence.
A potential interesting intervention is addiction-focused Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (AF-EMDR) therapy. However, the limited research on AF-EMDR therapy and mixed findings thus far prohibit clinical use. Recently, on the basis of diverse findings thus far, an adjusted AF-EMDR therapy protocol has been developed.
Description
Objective: to investigate areas of uncertainty about a possible future pilot RCT using AF-EMDR as an add-on intervention in inpatients who use non-opioid drugs and receive regular, inpatient addiction treatment, by determining:
- Feasibility.
- Potential clinical efficacy.
Study population: adults with a primary non-opioid use disorder, who are admitted to an inpatient addiction care clinic. A total of nine eligible participants will be allocated (allocation ratio 1:1:1) at random, in a non-concurrent fashion to one of three baseline durations.
Intervention: a total of four 90 min. sessions of AF-EMDR twice per week added to TAU.
Main study parameters/endpoints:
- Feasibility issues.
- Changes in daily craving.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
In order to be eligible to participate in this study, patients must meet the following
criteria:
Diagnosis of Tobacco Use Disorder according to the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association,
2013) criteria.
Age ≥ 18 years.
Good Dutch language proficiency (based on clinical judgement).
Smoking, on average, ≥ 10 cigarettes per day pre-admission.
A score of at least 5 on a scale from 0 to 10, for motivation and self-efficacy
A planned inpatient stay of ≥ 4 weeks.
Written informed consent.
Exclusion Criteria:
A patient who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in
this study:
Serious therapy interfering behavior or symptoms that also interfere with TAU, based on
clinical judgement (e. g. psychiatric or medical crisis that requires immediate
intervention).