Mindful awareness in body-oriented therapy as an adjunct to women's substance use disorder treatment: A pilot feasibility study

This study examined mindful awareness in body-oriented therapy (MABT) feasibility as a novel adjunct to women's substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. As an individual therapy, MABT combines manual and mind–body approaches to develop interoception and self-care tools for emotion regulation. A 2-group randomized controlled trial repeated-measures design was used, comparing MABT to treatment as usual (TAU) on relapse to substance use and related health outcomes. Sixty-one women were screened for eligibility, and 46 enrolled. Participants randomized to MABT received 8 weekly MABT sessions. Results showed moderate to large effects, including significantly fewer days on substance use, the primary outcome, for MABT compared with TAU at posttest. Secondary outcomes showed improved eating disorder symptoms, depression, anxiety, dissociation, perceived stress, physical symptom frequency, and bodily dissociation for MABT compared with TAU at the 9-month follow-up. In conclusion, it is feasible to implement MABT in women's SUD treatment, and results suggest that MABT is worthy of further efficacy testing.