The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Treatment on Anxiety, Depression and Prevention of Substance Use Relapse

Addiction and its negative consequences are a global problem and mindfulness is one of the methods that seeks to reduce its negative consequences using cognitive and behavioral techniques. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy on anxiety, depression, and the likelihood of relapse.

The research method was quasi-experimental and a pre-testpost-test design with a control group was used. The statistical population consisted of all people referring to addiction treatment clinics in Kerman and a sample of 50 people (25 people in the control group and 25 people in the experimental group) were selected through voluntary sampling. The experimental group received MBSR during 8 sessions of psychotherapy, but the control group did not receive any intervention. The research instruments were Slip and return questionnaire (Wright, 2001), Beck depression inventory (Beck, 1961) and Beck anxiety inventory (Beck, 1988). In addition, analysis of variance was used to compare the scores of individuals in the experimental and control groups.

The results showed that mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) treatment was effective in reducing anxiety (F (1, 48)=3.15, p<05), depression (F (1, 48)=608.71, p<05) and the likelihood of drug addicts returning) F (1, 48)=18.20, p<05).

Mindfulness is a kind of non-judgmental consciousness that teaches people to cope with negative thoughts and feelings and instead experience positive mental events. As a result, learning leads to less stress, less depression, and the likelihood of relapse through cognitive change in thinking style when faced with problems.