Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program

Steps Recovery Center recognizes how vital the mind, body, and spirit are in their connection to the whole person. We take a holistic approach to treating those with substance abuse and relatable disorders that may contribute to their substance abuse; this includes treating the whole person, and find that it tends to be more successful, especially since addiction affects every aspect of a person’s life. With a customized and individualized program, a holistic approach just makes sense. It affords an opportunity to meet the patient’s physical and psychological needs and allows them to engage physically, emotionally, and mentally.

What is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction? (MBSR)

MBSR therapy is a Buddhist meditation therapy that was initially designed for stress management but has since been used for treating various illnesses that include the following:

The goal of MBSR is to calm down the stress response the brain activates in times of stressful situations or painful emotions or events. It’s an alternative method of treatment for counselors or physicians to help patients cope with their diseases more effectively. The essence of mindfulness is focusing on one thing at the moment: the breath you take or step you walk, or the sounds or sights around you.

What to Expect from MBSR

MBSR works by teaching people that in-between stimulus and response, there’s a space. It’s in this space that we can choose how to react that allows for our growth and freedom. Most of us are unaware of this space because we have habitual patterns of reacting to life. These habits are formed early and are automatic.

For a successful treatment program, you would typically meet with a therapist, either individually or with a group, for about eight weeks. Depending on the recovery center or the therapist, it could take upwards of two hours or more for a weekly session. The treatment was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979 and has been adapted as a workbook format in hospitals all over the country. Many studies have come out from high-ranking institutions, including UCLA, Harvard, Stanford, and UW- Madison, that shows how this approach works and can change people’s brains permanently.

MBSR treatment helps people become aware of habitual reactions to stress and helps them relate to themselves in a new way that breaks the cycle to create more choices in life. The program explores mindfulness meditation training and practice, yoga, and body awareness training, along with patterns of thinking, feeling, and action. Self-help care will be taught, as well as specific information about stress physiology, interpersonal communication, and cognitive-behavioral strategies.

Over the eight week program, you will learn key skills that help you stay tuned in to your surroundings, so you stay in the moment or “present.”

MSBR Treatment in Drug and Alcohol Recovery

MSBR can help those in drug and alcohol recovery, particularly in the process of detox and with co-occurring mental illness. The treatment helps teach people coping skills in stressful or traumatic situations, which may have led to their alcohol or drug dependence in the first place. In the right environment and with a caring therapist or physician, mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques are useful in an individual’s recovery process.