Summary of the Article
The mindfulness addiction treatment model works with thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to elicit behavioral and emotional change. According to Kabat-Zinn (1990), mindfulness can be defined as awareness of experience, in the present moment, on purpose, and without judgment. Mindfulness helps addicts live in the moment and accept themselves as the addicts tend to escape from reality and not accept things as they are. Mindfulness methods of awareness, such as mindfulness awareness, help addicts notice moving out of attention which helps them to choose a more reasonable response, such as taking a walk or calling a friend to counteract the rising urge. Refuge Recovery (RR), a Buddhist-based self-help recovery method, is referred to in order to understand the mindfulness method. RR outlines that addiction creates suffering, the cause of addiction is repetitive craving, recovery is possible, and the path to recovery is simplified into wisdom ethics and meditation.
Group treatment of addiction is one of the most common addiction treatment models. The group method for addiction involves an addict enrolling in psychoeducational, psychotherapeutic, and self-help groups (Capuzzi & Stauffer 2016). There needs to be a program protocol to intervene and handle individuals that join the group. A common problem is taking individuals suspecting that they are high and disclosing that alcohol and drug use is not allowed during sessions. The counselor may require frequent breathalyzers to measure blood alcohol content or urinalysis test for drugs in their blood systems. Running psycho-educational or CBT groups is another challenge because these groups are not meant to be process groups where members can talk about cravings, relapses, and emotional upheavals. Instead, they are intended to educate clients and allow them to share personal experiences with the topics presented. Learning how to strike a balance between procedure and content may be challenging when working with a group of individuals with poor self-control and self-modulation skills.
Reactions
I prefer the group method for addiction as the best treatment option. I believe addiction is not something people can fight alone and being in a group can assist in accepting oneself and facing reality. Psychoeducational groups, psychotherapeutic groups, and Self- Help groups have a policy that prohibits judging others, and addicts can share their stories openly and express their feelings and what they are going through as addicts. Listening to what happens when they relapse after losing sobriety, individuals can learn from such experiences, which can help maintain sobriety.
Reference
Capuzzi, D., & Stauffer, M. D. (2016). Counseling and psychotherapy: Theories and interventions. John Wiley & Sons.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living. NY: Bantam.