Mindfulness-Related Treatments and Addiction Recovery

Abstract

While mindfulness meditation has been used in clinical settings as an adjunctive treatment for substance use disorders for some time, there has been limited empirical evidence to support this practice. Mindfulness-Related Treatments and Addiction Recovery bridges this gap by reporting the findings of studies in which mindfulness practice has been combined with other behavioural treatments and/or adapted to meet the needs of a variety of client populations in recovery. Therapies used as interventions in the described studies include Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP), and Mindfulness-Based Therapeutic Community (MBTC) treatment. The book offers a glimpse into the many ways in which mindfulness strategies have been applied to various facets of the recovery process including stress, craving, anxiety, and other relapse related factors. Preliminary evidence, while not conclusive, suggests that mindfulness-based therapies are effective, safe, satisfying to clients, and that an individual, at-home mindfulness practice can be potentially sustained over time, beyond the intervention duration.