The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-based Relapse Prevention Intervention on Craving and Emotional Processing in Substance-Dependent Individuals in the Non-Pharmacological Rehabilitation Phase

The present research aimed to assess the effectiveness of mindfulness-based relapse prevention intervention on craving and emotional processing in substance-dependent individuals in the non-pharmacological rehabilitation phase.

The current research was semi-experimental with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design with a control group. The statistical population included all substance-dependent men in addiction treatment clinics in the city of Urmia in 2020. Among them, 30 people were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly divided into two experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. The participants of both groups completed the craving scale-short form and the emotional processing scale in the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. The experimental group underwent mindfulness-based relapse prevention intervention in eight 60-minute sessions, and the control group did not receive any training during the treatment. The data were analyzed by the repeated-measures analysis of variance.

The results showed that the mindfulness-based relapse prevention intervention had a significant effect on reducing craving and emotional processing, and this effectiveness also remained stable in the two-month follow-up period.

Findings of this study provide useful information concerning mindfulness-based relapse prevention intervention and counselors and psychologists can use this intervention to improve craving and emotional processing in substance-dependent individuals in the non-pharmacological rehabilitation phase.