New England Research Institutes and Gosnold on Cape Cod have created a collaborative partnership to advance innovation in addiction healthcare and conduct research into promising practices.

“This collaboration will explore addiction research opportunities from pediatric through adulthood, focusing on community based continuing care, prevention, and early identification and intervention efforts,” said Lisa Marceau, executive director of New England Research Institutes (NERI). “NERI’s depth of health research expertise and Gosnold’s breadth of addiction treatment knowledge provide an opportunity to modify the approach to addiction research and treatment. This collaboration will integrate multidisciplinary research efforts at the patient, provider, and system levels.”

“We are very excited and optimistic about this partnership,” said Gosnold President Raymond V. Tamasi. “Gosnold has developed several treatment innovations and the opportunity to engage a professional research firm with NERI’s reputation will enable us to validate these approaches and advance our commitment to find better ways to prevent, identify and treat addiction.”

The first research to be conducted through this collaboration will focus on Gosnold’s use of Expressive Digital Imagery (EDI) in partnership with the EDI Institute. Gosnold has integrated EDI into its therapeutic programs to promote patient recovery and resilience through the use of imagery created on mobile devices.

Addiction is a chronic health condition that affects 40% of the American public. Of the estimated 25 million people who need treatment, only about 10% receive care. Stigma, insurance barriers, limited access to appropriate care, and the misperception by many that they don’t have a problem impede the ability to receive appropriate treatment. Despite growing acceptance of addiction as a chronic brain disorder, treatments continue to rely on approaches weighted towards inpatient detox and rehab programs.

New England Research Institutes (NERI) is a research organization with a global reputation for high-quality research, innovative thinking, and the use of state-of-the-science tools and techniques. NERI continues to be a leader in public health research, clinical trials management, survey research, epidemiology, and state of the art media and dissemination research. Measures of NERI’s scientific excellence include: the volume of peer-reviewed articles authored each year by NERI scientists that are published in the most prestigious academic journals; the breadth of NERI’s clients (pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies, and government agencies); and the reach of NERI’s partnerships (including universities, clinical research centers, professional organizations, and hospital systems).

Gosnold on Cape Cod is a provider of addiction prevention and treatment services with a local, regional, and national reputation and a continuum of services designed to support patients and families with inpatient, outpatient, and community based care in the home, in schools, and in medical offices. Gosnold provides specialty services (including medication assisted treatment, school based counseling, extended care management, and technology based interventions) and a family component providing counseling, support, education and individualized coaching.

The EDI Institute partners with medical, community, and educational organizations to promote recovery and resilience through imagery created on mobile devices. The EDI Institute team includes leaders in the fields of mental health, research, and expressive therapies from McLean Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Partners HealthCare and Lesley University. The EDI Institute is committed to improving clinical outcomes for any chronic illness by identifying and disseminating best practices, performing scientific research and innovating new technologies.