Staying consistent after treatment can be challenging for many individuals. However, for those recovering from substance use disorders (SUDs), consistency is critical in preventing relapse. Roots Recovery offers a mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) program service for those who need guidance in this process. These practices learned at Roots can be implemented into people’s lives to continue on their journey in a healthy and safe way.
What Is Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention?
MBRP at Roots Recovery encourages clients to practice mindful awareness to escape addictive trappings or tendencies of their minds. Through this therapy, triggers, destructive habits, and automatic reactions that feel uncontrollable become recognizable and understood on a deeper level. This therapy helps clients observe their thought and emotional processes before jumping into decision-making, which could result in relapse without this form of support.
In recognizing the warning signs for relapse, developing effective coping skills, and enhancing self-efficacy, clients can accept and tolerate both positive and negative physical, emotional, and cognitive states. With this acceptance and tolerance, they can prevent relapse more effectively. This is because they are not prone to turning to drugs or alcohol when these stresses arise.
Professionals and therapists at Roots Recovery guide clients in developing healthier and happier relationships with themselves. This works to prevent relapse and manifest a more satisfying and peaceful lifestyle that does not depend on substances.
Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention at Roots Recovery
MBRP is recommended for clients with difficult experiences with their dependency on drugs or alcohol. It is also recommended for those who want to implement more mindfulness-based practices to remain consistent on their journey with sobriety.
MBRP at Roots Recovery typically lasts for eight weeks in roughly two-hour group sessions guided by at least two therapists. Often there is a central theme of these sessions, facilitated with exercises that help heal participants’ relationships with their thoughts and emotions.
Meditations are sometimes incorporated into these sessions to develop a more relaxed and less overwhelming state of being for clients before diving into their deeper emotional and thought processes. Breathing techniques are implemented during and outside of these meditations as well to ease clients’ minds.
Other than meditation, other practices are incorporated into this program as well. These may include more creative or movement-based outlets, such as using artistic ways of expression. In expressing the self in different ways, overcoming addiction becomes less overwhelming. Movement practices also encourage clients to relieve stress and other overwhelming emotions.
These practices are provided to clients as a part of our aftercare program and as a way to offer clients these tools and resources to use outside of Roots. Creative, movement, and meditative practices can be incorporated into an individual’s daily life to help them remain consistent on the recovery journey months and years after going through Roots Recovery’s treatment.
A ‘Whole-Person’ Approach to Treatment
MBRP works alongside Roots Recovery’s goal of implementing a “whole-person” approach to treatment. This approach to recovery and treatment encourages clients to develop a deeper sense of self, connecting their minds, bodies, and spirits together.
Rather than perceiving recovery as “fixing” something, Roots values every client’s initial journey through treatment and guides them to a happier and healthier life. This approach helps clients explore themselves as individuals with a place in the world.
Goals of Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention
MBRP is a part of treatment at Roots Recovery to help clients integrate mindfulness into their daily lives. This way, once they complete services with us, they develop a sense of control over their addiction. Aside from the overarching, general goal of maintaining consistency in recovery to prevent relapse, other goals of MBRP include:
- Developing awareness of triggers, habits, and reactions in order to learn how to pause mental processes before decision-making
- Changing an individual’s relationship with discomfort, recognizing difficult emotional and physical experiences, and responding to these experiences in a healthier and skillful way
- Creating a nonjudgmental and compassionate approach to the self and experiences
- Building a lifestyle that supports mindfulness practices and consistent recovery
Success at Roots Recovery
At Roots Recovery, many clients experience abstinence months after treatment services. Six months after treatment, 29% of clients remained abstinent, and 11% experienced abstinence for one month. After a year post-treatment, 30% of clients remained abstinent. These percentages at Roots Recovery are either equal to or higher than the national norms.
Likewise, many clients, after receiving services at Roots, have felt good about their recovery journeys. They have also taken advantage of post-treatment support such as support meetings, aftercare monitoring, and services they sought personally.
Relationships, employment, and overall feelings improved for clients post-treatment. Alongside these positive advances in their lives, there have been fewer criminal offenses and medical interventions among this group a year after treatment. Clients, generally, have been satisfied with their treatments as they experienced improvements over a year after their time with Roots Recovery.
Here at Roots Recovery, we offer different treatment approaches for clients seeking services for substance use disorder (SUD). To help clients recover from addiction, we offer mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP). This program helps clients develop a deeper understanding of their thoughts and emotions and a stronger connection between their minds, bodies, and spirits as part of our “whole-person” approach to treatment and recovery. Some practices in MBRP include meditation, artistic expression, and movement-based practices that can be incorporated into their lives outside of their time at Roots. We encourage MBRP so our clients can maintain consistency in their recovery journey. To learn more about our programs and mindfulness practices, contact Roots Recovery at (562) 473-0827.
