Journaling and Addiction Recovery: Piloting "Positive Peer Journaling" (PPJ)

This is an interventional treatment trial for Addiction Read More

Inclusion Criteria:

• meet DSM-V criteria for past-year Substance Use Disorder as primary or secondary diagnosis,
• English literacy sufficient to make short written lists needed to complete PPJ and homework assessments,
• minimum 2 weeks sustained abstinence,
• completed first 2 weeks of treatment at Nuway (approximately 2 weeks), an intensive outpatient substance use disorder treatment program and the recruitment site,
• agree to be audio recorded or transcription recorded in group meetings and in individual meetings with research staff,
• currently are clients in the Nuway outpatient program,
• participants must be English speaking and literacy must be strong enough to write short lists and to understand the questions asked in the questionnaires,
• participants must have an electronic device that connects to the internet and internet connection for online delivery of intervention during COVID-19.

Exclusion Criteria:

• presence of a psychotic disorder, psychiatric condition (e.g., suicidal ideation), or cognitive impairment (e.g., severe dementia, traumatic brain injury) limiting ability to give consent and/or participate in the study;
• severe psychiatric illness (current schizophrenia, major depression with suicidal ideation);
• personality disorders that would interfere with satisfactory participation in or completion of the study protocol,
• inability to give informed, voluntary consent to participate,
• lack of sufficient English literacy to participate, defined as inability to make a list of 5 things they did yesterday and inability to understand questionnaire items,
• any impairment, activity, or situation that in the judgement of the research staff would prevent satisfactory participation in or completion of the study protocol.