UW scientists are testing a new approach to drug and alcohol addiction treatments, called mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP), which melds Buddhist meditation techniques with traditional therapeutic approaches.
Many people use drugs or alcohol to self-medicate underlying psychiatric conditions like anxiety or depression, according to an article in the April 2007 issue of the Southern Medical Journal.
“We found that the number-one trigger for relapse for people who have been through treatment for alcohol and drugs is negative emotional states,” said G. Alan Marlatt, a psychology professor and the director of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center. “If people are feeling bad, and if they’ve used drugs in the past to make themselves feel better in the short term by getting high, then, unless they’ve figured out or been taught other ways to cope with these negative emotions, they’re a big trigger.”
The MBRP program helps people cope with these emotions by teaching them Vipassana, a Buddhist meditation that emphasizes mindfulness, said Sarah Bowen, a psychology graduate student involved in the research. Mindfulness is the ability of the meditator to be “in the present moment,” observing his or her thoughts without judging them, said Neharika Chawla, another psychology graduate student who works on the treatment.
Read more: http://dailyuw.com/2007/5/2/whats-new-in-science/
