"My Body is Nurturing Me" Personalized Spiritual Experiences during Interoceptive Awareness Training Among People in Medication Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder.
Megan Sherman, Cynthia J Price
Spirituality in Clinical Practice October 29, 2026 DOI: 10.1037/scp0000423 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | A sub-set of participants in a study of Mindful Awareness in Body-oriented Therapy (MABT) for people in medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD) |
| Intervention | Mindful Awareness in Body-oriented Therapy (MABT) |
| Topics | Addiction |
| Keywords | Intervention Spiritual experience Interoceptive awareness |
| Key findings | Three themes of spiritual experience emerged among MABT participants: Experiencing Wholeness and Healing, Awakening Inner Knowing, and My Body is Nurturing Me. All participants endorsed some level of spiritual experience, and interoceptive awareness increased from pre to post. The authors propose that spiritual experience may be helpful in substance use disorder recovery. |
Abstract
Research links the neural processes of spiritual experiences, or 'peak experiences' of eudaimonic well-being, to substance abuse recovery. Studies also identify health improvements among substance use disorder (SUD) treatment approaches that include interoceptive awareness training. However, the relationship between interoceptive awareness and spiritual experience within substance use recovery is poorly understood. This conceptual project was designed to explore personalized spiritual experience among a sub-set of participants in a study of Mindful Awareness in Body-oriented Therapy (MABT) for people in medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD). MABT teaches and develops the capacity for interoceptive awareness, defined as the conscious experience of internal bodily sensations, to facilitate improved self-care and well-being. Three themes of spiritual experience emerged based on consistent patterns and processes: Experiencing Wholeness and Healing, Awakening Inner Knowing, and My Body is Nurturing Me. To illustrate how these themes are expressed within the context of MABT, four participant exemplars are provided. Responses to survey questions about spiritual experience and interoceptive awareness were also examined. All participants endorsed some level of SE and the level of IA increased pre to post. In summary, this project highlighted the role of SE in MABT and the potential helpfulness of SE in SUD recovery. Future research could explore underlying mechanisms of IA for improved SE and the role of SE in SUD recovery.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelic therapy for smoking cessation: Qualitative analysis of participant accounts Participants who completed a psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation pilot study | 2018 | Qualitative follow-up study using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis | n = 12 |
| Therapeutic Effects of Ritual Ayahuasca Use in the Treatment of Substance Dependence—Qualitative Results Therapists, expert researchers, and individuals who underwent ayahuasca-assisted... | 2014 | Qualitative study | n = 29 |
| Exploring ayahuasca‐assisted therapy for addiction: A qualitative analysis of preliminary findings among an Indigenous community in Canada Indigenous adults in Canada who participated in ayahuasca-assisted ceremonial retreats | 2019 | Qualitative study | n = 11 |
| Self-reported negative outcomes of psilocybin users: A quantitative textual analysis Users who self-reported psilocybin experiences on an online platform | 2020 | Qualitative study | n = 346 |
| Reports of self-compassion and affect regulation in psilocybin-assisted therapy for alcohol use disorder: An interpretive phenomenological analysis. non-Hispanic White cisgender men and women with alcohol use disorder | 2023 | Qualitative study | n = 13 |