On the Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention in Substance Abuse and the Severity of Comorbidity of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in the Addicts of Therapeutic Community Centers

The comorbidity of substance abuse and mood and anxiety disorders have been proven in various studies and have led to a lot of clinical implications. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of mindfulness-based relapse prevention and common treatment in substance abuse and symptoms of depression and anxiety among addicts.
This study was conducted within the framework of a quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest control group and follow-up. Based on the Structured Clinical Interview and the acquisition of inclusion criteria, the number of sixty-three participants was selected via purposive sampling from among the men suffering from substance abuse, anxiety, and depression. Thereafter, the participants were divided into two groups, mindfulness-based relapse prevention group and conventional treatment group. Pennsylvania Alcohol Craving Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory were used for data collection.
The results showed that mindfulness-based relapse prevention interventions were effective in reducing cravings and symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Due to the effectiveness of mindfulness-based relapse prevention interventions in the decrease of cravings and symptoms of depression and anxiety in addicts, these results can have good practical implications for clinicians working in addiction centers.