VISTAS Online is an innovative publication produced for ACA by Dr. Garry R. Walz and Dr. Jeanne C. Bleuer of Counseling Outfitters, LLC. Its purpose is to provide a means of capturing the ideas, information and experiences generated by the annual ACA Conference and selected ACA Division Conferences. Papers on a program or practice that has been validated through research or experience may also be submitted. This digital collection of peer-reviewed articles is authored by counselors, for counselors. VISTAS Online contains the full text of over 900 proprietary counseling articles published from 2004 to 2017.
2017
A Review of Effective Treatments for Patients With Co-Occurring Chronic Pain and Opioid Addiction
Connor C. Tripp, Eniko Rak, and Eileen Burker
2017
Chronic pain is a highly prevalent condition in adults in the United States, commonly treated with pain relief medication. Long-term use of opioid treatment increases the risk of opioid use disorder. Integrative health treatments, which include cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based therapies, have the potential to lower the intensity of chronic pain in these patients. Replacing medication with these two therapies or combining these therapies with opioid substitution therapies, such as buprenorphine, could provide a more effective approach and can prevent opioid use disorders. This paper will review literature examining the efficacy of these two therapies, with or without opioid substitution, in treating co-occurring chronic pain and opioid addiction.
Keywords: chronic pain, cognitive behavior therapy, mindfulness treatments, opioid addiction, opioid use disorder, opioid substitution, buprenorphine