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Enhancing Addiction Treatment Through Psychoeducation

Enhancing Addiction Treatment Through Psychoeducation: Evaluating the Feasibility and Acceptability of a Neuroscience-Informed Mobile App

Who can join

Ages 18 to 65 · All sexes

Inclusion Criteria:

* current DSM-5 opioid and/or stimulant use disorder
* currently on medication treatment for SUD
* owning a smartphone with sufficient functionality to download and utilize the NIPA app.

Exclusion Criteria:

* current psychosis, mania, or suicidal/homicidal ideation
* non-English speaking

About the study

Addiction is a brain disorder characterized by a broad range of both apparent and subtle cognitive impairments in attention, memory, executive functions, and decision-making. These cognitive problems are clinically significant and may contribute to poor treatment outcomes in people with Substance Use Disorders (SUDs), such as a high risk of dropout, low treatment compliance, and shorter periods of abstinence. Studies on cognitive function in SUDs reveal that chronic use of drugs and alcohol can also negatively affect another crucial component of cognition: awareness, or metacognition. Metacognition is defined as an individual's ability to perceive and understand their cognitive functions and use this understanding to regulate them. One of the key consequences of metacognitive impairments is the lack of insight in people with SUDs, which adversely affects treatment outcomes. Substance users with poor metacognition are more reluctant to initiate or continue treatment and are more likely to deny their cognitive problems. Therefore, improving metacognition may remove or reduce motivational barriers to invest time and effort in the recovery process in general, and in the brain recovery process specifically. Despite the importance of neurocognition and metacognition in the recovery process for substance users, there is a dearth of interventions designed to target these functions.

What is being tested

• Installing the Metacognium software app (other)
• Continue treatment as usual (other)

Sponsor: Virginia Commonwealth University · Participants: 40 · Started: Jul 23, 2026

Contact the study team

• Kayla McLean · Phone: (804) 828-8402

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT07178158

Locations in the U.S.

Conditions

• Drug Use and Addiction

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.