Research Summary
The goal of my research program is to translate findings from cognitive and affective neuroscience into interventions that target transdiagnostic mechanisms underpinning substance use disorders, emotion dysregulation, and chronic pain syndromes. My treatment development research is focused on Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement, a novel therapy that unites mindfulness training, CBT, and principles from positive psychology into an integrative intervention for addiction and chronic pain.
Education
- PhD, with distinction, Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Project: Biopsychosocial assessment of a mindfulness-oriented cognitive intervention for alcohol dependence
- MSW, Social Work, West Virginia Univesity
- BA, magna cum laude, Psychology, minors Anthropology & Religious Studies, University of Delaware
Biography
Dr. Eric Garland, PhD, LCSW is Distinguished Endowed Chair in Research, Associate Dean for Research, and Professor in the University of Utah College of Social Work, Director of the Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development (C-MIIND), and Associate Director of Integrative Medicine in Supportive Oncology and Survivorship at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Dr. Garland is the developer of an innovative, multimodal mindfulness-based intervention founded on insights derived from cognitive, affective, and neurobiological science, called Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE). As Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator, he has received over $65 million in research grants from a variety of prestigious entities including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to conduct translational research on biopsychosocial mechanisms implicated in stress and health, including randomized controlled trials of MORE as a treatment for prescription opioid misuse and chronic pain conditions. In recognition of his national expertise in mindfulness research, in 2019 Dr. Garland was appointed by NIH Director Francis Collins to the Multidisciplinary Working Group of the NIH HEAL (Helping to End Addiction in the Long Term) Initiative. Dr. Garland served as past Chair of the Research Working Group of the national Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health. Dr. Garland has had over 185 scientific articles and book chapters published in respected, peer-reviewed outlets, and he currently serves as Associate Editor for the journal Mindfulness. To complement his expertise in clinical research, Dr. Garland is a licensed psychotherapist (LCSW) with more than a decade of clinical experience working with persons suffering from addictive behaviors, mood disorders, traumatic stress, chronic pain, and psychosomatic conditions. He has provided mindfulness-based therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and clinical hypnosis for these patients across a wide range of integrative medicine and mental health settings.
Selected Works
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Garland, E.L., Atchley, R.M., Hanley, A.W., Zubieta, J.K. & Froeliger, B. (2019). Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement remediates hedonic dysregulation in opioid users: Neural and affective evidence of target engagement. Science Advances. Vol. 5.
Published, 10/16/2019.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31663023 -
Garland, E.L., Brintz, C.E., Hanley, A.W., Roseen, E.J., Atchley, R.M., Gaylord, S.A., Faurot, K., Yaffe, J., Fiander, M. & Keefe, F.J. (2019). Mind-body therapies for opioid-treated pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis of mental techniques to improve clinical pain and opioid-related outcomes. JAMA Internal Medicine.
Published, 11/04/2019.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31682676 -
Garland, E.L. , Hanley, A.W., Riquino, M.R., Reese, S.E., Baker, A.K., Salas, K., Yack, B.P., Bedford, C.E., Bryan, M.A., Atchley, R.M., Nakamura, U., Froeliger, B. & Howard, M.O. (2019). Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement reduces opioid misuse risk via analgesic and positive psychological mechanisms: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
Published, 10/2019.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31556669 -
Garland EL, Hanley AW, Kline A & Cooperman NA (2019). Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement reduces opioid craving among individuals with opioid use disorder and chronic pain in medication assisted treatment: Ecological momentary assessments from a stage 1 randomized controlled trial. Drug and alcohol dependence. Vol. 203, 61-65.
Published, 09/01/2019.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31404850 -
Garland EL, Trøstheim M, Eikemo M, Ernst G & Leknes S (2019). Anhedonia in chronic pain and prescription opioid misuse. Psychological medicine. 1-12.
Published, 08/19/2019.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31422776 -
Garland E., Baker A., Larsen P., Riquino M., Priddy S., Thomas E., Hanley A., Galbraith P., Wanner N. & Nakamura Y. (2017). Randomized Controlled Trial of Brief Mindfulness Training and Hypnotic Suggestion for Acute Pain Relief in the Hospital Setting. (pp. 1106-1113). Vol. 32, Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Published, 10/01/2017.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28702870/ - Garland EL, Bryan CJ, Nakamura Y, Froeliger B & Howard MO (2017). Deficits in autonomic indices of emotion regulation and reward processing associated with prescription opioid use and misuse. Psychopharmacology. Vol. 234, 621-629. Published, 12/01/2017.
- Garland, E.L. (2016). Targeting hedonic dysregulation with Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement: Restructuring reward mechanisms in addiction, stress, and pain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1373, 25-37. Published, 07/04/2016.