Feelings as medicine: could emotional awareness ease pain and opioid dependence?
NCT ID NCT06865560
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This pilot study tested whether an 8-week group therapy program delivered over Zoom could help adults with both chronic pain and opioid use disorder. The therapy, called Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET), teaches people to understand and express their emotions as a way to reduce pain and related problems. Only 11 people took part, so the main goal was to see if the treatment was acceptable and feasible, not to prove it works.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.
Active substance
Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET) - a group-based behavioral intervention delivered via telehealth
What this could lead to
If it works, this could point toward a non-drug, talk-based approach to help people with chronic pain and opioid use disorder feel better and manage their conditions.
What could go wrong
This is a very small pilot study with only 11 participants and no control group, so results may not apply to everyone. The therapy requires active participation and may not work for all.
Disclaimer
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This is a summary of
the original study
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Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.
This is a summary of the original study . Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
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Locations
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The University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, United States