Body-Focused Mindfulness Therapy Shows Promise for Women with Substance Use Disorder

Individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) have impaired interoceptive awareness (ability to process bodily sensations) that might contribute to emotion dysregulation and relapse. Mindful awareness in body-oriented therapy (MABT) uses guided touch and mindfulness training to improve interoceptive awareness. Previously, investigators randomized 187 women with SUD and histories of interpersonal trauma to outpatient treatment as usual (TAU), TAU plus MABT, or TAU plus women's health education (WHE; active control). MABT and WHE were delivered in eight weekly, 1.5-hour sessions over 8 to 10 weeks. At 3 months' follow-up, women receiving TAU plus MABT had acquired interoceptive awareness skills and achieved better emotion regulation (compared…