Although significant progress has been made in treatment for alcohol dependence, a substantial proportion of individuals relapse after treatment. Negative affect and inability to regulate negative affect have been strongly implicated in alcohol dependence and relapse. A considerable amount of attention has been given to coping and other cognitive-behavioral methods of relapse prevention, however, studies of the specific role of affect regulation in relapse prevention and interventions to improve this capacity have been lacking. Mindfulness-based interventions directed toward improving affect regulation have shown promise in treating mood and behavioral disorders such as depression, borderline personality, and binge eating. This project proposes to develop and pilot test a mindfulness-based approach to improving regulation of negative affect among alcohol dependent individuals who have completed outpatient treatment for alcohol dependence. The goals will be to 1) develop a mindfulness-based intervention for relapse prevention intended to supplement the current standard of care by selecting and adapting elements of existing mindfulness-based interventions for an alcoholic population, 2) assess the feasibility of such an intervention for a alcoholic population, and refine it based on pilot testing, 3) assess in a preliminary fashion the impact of such an intervention on improving regulation of negative affect and psychological well-being, and reducing relapse in comparison with treatment-as usual, and 4) develop a treatment manual and establish therapist competencies and training protocols for future randomized controlled trials should the intervention prove feasible and show promise with this population. This proposal represents the first prospective study of affect regulation as a mediator of substance abuse treatment success, as well as the one of the first assessments of the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention on relapse prevention in alcohol dependent individuals who have completed outpatient treatment. ? ? ?
| Vieten, Cassandra; Astin, John A; Buscemi, Raymond et al. (2010) Development of an acceptance-based coping intervention for alcohol dependence relapse prevention. Subst Abus 31:108-16 |
