Sarah Bowen
on Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention
for Addictive Behaviors
Listen:
Show Notes:
For those of us recovering from addiction, a craving can feel like a failure. But what if we could learn to have a different relationship with craving? What if we could surf the urge and ask ourselves "What do I really need right now?" Can the practice of mindfulness give us a choice in how we respond to craving and help prevent relapse?
In this episode of Noble Mind, Dr. Sarah Bowen joins Kate and Alex to discuss her work developing mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) for addiction and addictive behaviors. She explains how relapse is normal part of the recovery journey for most people and why shame doesn’t work as a prevention strategy. She also shares what differentiates mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) from traditional relapse prevention and other methods of working with addiction. Learn how MBRP helps to change our relationship with cravings and gives us agency over our behavior. Listen in for Dr. Bowen’s insight on navigating problematic habits that emerged during the pandemic for many of us.
Sarah Bowen, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist. She is an Assistant Professor at Pacific University, in Portland, OR, and an affiliate Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. She received her doctoral training under the mentorship of Dr. Alan Marlatt at University of Washington. Dr. Bowen's research focuses primarily on mindfulness-based therapies for relapse prevention, with specific focus on mechanisms of change, including negative affect, thought suppression and craving. She has authored numerous articles and book chapters on this and related topics (see publications), and is co-author of the Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for Addictive Behaviors: A Clinician's Guide. Dr. Bowen has facilitated MBRP groups in private and county treatment agencies, in criminal justice institutions, and at the VA Medical Center, and offers trainings to researchers and clinicians in the U.S., Europe, and Central America. She is particularly interested in the application of mindfulness-based work to dual-diagnosis and under-served populations.
Key Takeaways
- How Dr. Bowen’s academic study of meditation paralleled her personal journey with the practice
- The importance of Dr. G. Alan Marlatt’s pioneering work in using harm reduction and meditation to treat addictive behaviors, and Dr. Bowen's experiences with him as her mentor.
- Why it’s crucial to recognize that relapse is part of the recovery process for most people.
- What differentiates Dr. Bowen and Dr. Marlatt’s mindfulness-based relapse prevention from other methods of treating addictive behaviors.
- Why shame doesn’t work as a relapse prevention strategy.
- How urge surfing helps us practice being with a craving and then choosing how we respond.
- The similarities and differences between MBRP and DBT's distress tolerance.
- Dr. Bowen’s advice on navigating problematic behaviors that may have emerged during the pandemic.
- How Dr. Bowen defines addiction and addictive behaviors in terms of negative reinforcement.
- The huge comorbidity between trauma and addiction + why they should be treated together.
- How MBRP compared with standard relapse and community-based treatment programs in Dr. Bowen’s 2014 clinical trial.
Connect with Dr. Bowen
Resources Mentioned
- Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for Addictive Behaviors: A Clinician’s Guide by Sarah Bowen, Neha Chawla, Joel Grow and G. Alan Marlatt
- Dr. Bowen’s 2014 Clinical Trial Comparing MBRP with Standard Relapse Prevention and Treatment As Usual
- ‘Mindfulness-Based Treatment to Prevent Addictive Behavior Relapse: Theoretical Models and Hypothesized Mechanisms of Change’ in Substance Use and Misuse
- Dr. Bowen’s Research on Mindfulness and Substance Use
- Dr. G. Alan Marlatt
- Insight Meditation Society
- Dr. G. Alan Marlatt’s Obituary in The New York Times
- Dr. G. Alan Marlatt’s 2002 Paper on Buddhist Philosophy & Treating Addiction
- Dr. G. Alan Marlatt’s 2002 Paper on Harm Reduction Approaches to Alcohol Use
- Urge Surfing
- Relapse Prevention: Maintenance Strategies in the Treatment of Addictive Behaviors edited by G. Alan Marlatt and Judith R. Gordon
- Distress Tolerance in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
- Dr. Marsha Linehan
- Dr. Gabor Mate
Disclaimer: Please note that the information shared in this podcast is strictly for educational purposes only, and is not intended as psychological treatment or consultation of any kind.
Recent Past Episodes:
Hosts:
Katherine King, PsyD
Katherine King, PsyD is a clinical psychologist and assistant professor of psychology at William James College. She was trained in evidence-based treatments within the Veterans’ Administration and has a private practice specializing in geropsychology. She is also a member of the Boston Shambhala Center Board of Directors, a vajrayana student of Buddhism, and has practiced meditation for over 20 years. Learn more about Kate at www.drkateking.com.
Alex Gokce, MSW
Alex Gokce, MSW has a master’s degree in social work from Salem State University and an undergraduate degree in Comparative Government from Harvard University. He has led psychotherapy groups on topics including mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and mind-body approaches to pain management. He has co-led programs at the Boston Shambhala Center on the topics of trauma and self-compassion. His personal and professional interests center around the individual, societal and intergenerational impacts of trauma, as well as the sociocultural roots of interpersonal harm.
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The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy is a non-profit organization dedicated to the education and training of mental health professionals in the integration of mindfulness meditation and psychotherapy.
