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Background and Objectives: There are high rates of comorbidity between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and opioid use disorder (OUD). Evidence‐based trauma‐focused psychotherapies such as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) are a first‐line treatment for PTSD. Veterans with OUD are treated primarily in substance use disorder (SUD) clinics where the standard of care is drug counseling; they often do not have access to first‐line PTSD treatments. This study tested whether CPT can be conducted safely and effectively in veterans with comorbid OUD treated with buprenorphine. Methods: This 12‐week, 2‐site, randomized clinical trial (RCT) included open‐label randomization to two groups: (a) CPT versus (b) Individual Drug Counselling (IDC) in veterans with PTSD and comorbid OUD who were maintained on buprenorphine (N = 38). Results: Veterans randomized to either IDC (n = 18) or CPT (n = 20) showed a significant reduction in self‐reported PTSD symptoms over time as measured by the PTSD checklist (PCL‐5) but there were no treatment group differences; there was some indication that reduction in PTSD symptoms in the CPT group were sustained in contrast to the IDC group. Recruitment was significantly impacted by COVID‐19 pandemic, so this study serves as a proof‐of‐concept pilot study. Discussion and Conclusions: Veterans with OUD and PTSD can safely and effectively participate in evidence‐based therapy for PTSD; further work should confirm that trauma‐focused treatment may be more effective in leading to sustained remission of PTSD symptoms than drug counseling. Scientific Significance: This is the first study to evaluate CPT for PTSD in the context of buprenorphine treatment for OUD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment integrity ratings (adherence and competence) are frequently used as outcome measures in clinician training studies, drawn from recorded real client or role-played client sessions. However, it is unknown whether clinician adherence and competence are similar in real client and role-played sessions or whether real and role-play clients provide similar opportunities for skill demonstration. In this study, we examined the correspondence of treatment adherence and competence ratings obtained in real client and role-played sessions for 91 clinicians trained in motivational interviewing (MI), using data from a multisite trial examining 3 methods of clinician training (Martino et al., 2011). Results indicated overall poor integrity rating correspondence across the 2 session types, as indicated by weak correlations (rs = 0.05-0.27). Clinicians were rated significantly more MI adherent overall and specifically used more advanced MI strategies in role-played than real client sessions at several assessment time points (ds = 0.36, 0.42). Real clients, in comparison to the role-play actor, demonstrated greater motivation at the beginning of the session (d = 1.09), discussion of unrelated topics (d = 0.70), and alliance with the clinician (d = 0.72). These findings suggest that MI integrity rating data obtained from real client and role-played sessions may not be interchangeable. More research is needed to improve the procedures and psychometric strength of treatment integrity assessment based on role-played sessions. (Contains 3 tables and 3 footnotes.)

Contingency management (CM) utilizing monetary incentives is efficacious in enhancing abstinence in an adolescent smoking-cessation program, but how adolescents spend their money has not been examined. We assessed spending habits of 38 adolescent smokers in a CM-based smoking-cessation project prior to quitting and during treatment using a questionnaire about spending in a number of categories, including cigarettes, other addictive substances, durable goods, and disposable goods. Our preliminary results indicate that participation in a CM-based program for smoking cessation did not lead to greater spending on cigarettes and other substances and may have produced more socially acceptable spending. (Contains 1 figure.)

The effectiveness of motivational enhancement therapy (MET) in comparison with counseling as usual (CAU) for increasing retention and reducing substance use was evaluated in a multisite randomized clinical trial. Participants were 461 outpatients treated by 31 therapists within 1 of 5 outpatient substance abuse programs. There were no retention differences between the 2 brief intervention conditions. Although both 3-session interventions resulted in reductions in substance use during the 4-week therapy phase, MET resulted in sustained reductions during the subsequent 12 weeks whereas CAU was associated with significant increases in substance use over this follow-up period. This finding was complicated by program site main effects and higher level interactions. MET resulted in more sustained substance use reductions than CAU among primary alcohol users, but no difference was found for primary drug users. An independent evaluation of session audiotapes indicated that MET and CAU were highly and comparably discriminable across sites.

Marijuana-dependent young adults (N = 136), all referred by the criminal justice system, were randomized to 1 of 4 treatment conditions: a motivational/skills-building intervention (motivational enhancement therapy/cognitive-behavioral therapy; MET/CBT) plus incentives contingent on session attendance or submission of marijuana-free urine specimens (contingency management; CM), MET/CBT without CM, individual drug counseling (DC) plus CM, and DC without CM. There was a significant main effect of CM on treatment retention and marijuana-free urine specimens. Moreover, the combination of MET/CBT plus CM was significantly more effective than MET/CBT without CM or DC plus CM, which were in turn more effective than DC without CM for treatment attendance and percentage of marijuana-free urine specimens. Participants assigned to MET/CBT continued to reduce the frequency of their marijuana use through a 6-month follow-up.

The relationship between treatment outcome and the extent to which participants completed homework assignments was evaluated among 60 cocaine-dependent individuals assigned to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Homework was assigned in 72% of all sessions and initiated by participants in 48% of the sessions in which it was assigned. Completion of homework was unrelated to participants' baseline characteristics and several indicators of treatment compliance. Participants who completed more homework assignments demonstrated significantly greater increases in the quantity and quality of their coping skills and used significantly less cocaine during treatment and through a 1-year follow-up. These data suggest that the extent to which participants are willing to complete extrasession assignments may be an important mediator of response to CBT.

The concurrent and predictive validity of 2 different methods of Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III subtyping (protocol sorting, cluster analysis) was evaluated in 125 recently detoxified opioid-dependent outpatients in a 12-week randomized clinical trial. Participants received naltrexone and relapse prevention group counseling and were assigned to 1 of 3 intervention conditions: (a) no-incentive vouchers, (b) incentive vouchers alone, or (c) incentive vouchers plus relationship counseling. Affective disturbance was the most common Axis I protocol-sorted subtype (66%), antisocial-narcissistic was the most common Axis II subtype (46%), and cluster analysis suggested that a 2-cluster solution (high vs. low psychiatric severity) was optimal. Predictive validity analyses indicated less symptom improvement for the higher problem subtypes, and patient treatment matching analyses indicated that some subtypes had better outcomes in the no-incentive voucher conditions.