Mindfulness Therapy Assisted by Ketamine May Strengthen Body Awareness to Reduce Opioid Cravings

New findings suggest ketamine may enhance mindfulness therapy by helping people better recognize and respond to internal body signals tied to craving and emotional regulation.

Researchers from University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found that adding ketamine to a mindfulness-based treatment for opioid use disorder may strengthen people’s ability to recognize and respond to signals from their bodies — changes that may help reduce opioid cravings. The study, published on Nov. 5, 2026 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, provides new insight into how ketamine-assisted psychotherapy may enhance addiction treatment.

Addiction can make it extraordinarily difficult for people to recognize what is happening inside their bodies and respond in ways that support recovery,” said Eric Garland, PhD, professor of psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine and senior author. “Our findings suggest ketamine combined with mindfulness may create an opportunity for people to become more attuned to those internal signals and, importantly, learn how to respond to them more skillfully rather than automatically reacting to cravings.”