Purpose: Caring for substance use disordered individuals is associated with chronic stress, which can have significant deleterious effects on mental health and quality of life. The study aimed to check the effectiveness of a four-day mindfulness retreat (10 hours of mindfulness practice and 6 hours of lectures) for caregivers working with substance abuse and addicted patients. Methods: 85 participants (aged M=34.8; SD=8.3) completed the Short Version of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, the Rumination-Reflective Questionnaire, the Flourishing Scale, and the Resilience Scale. The following statistics were used to assess the magnitude of change in the variables controlled in this study: t-test, Cohen’s d-test, Reliable Change Indices (RCI) with 80% Confidence Intervals for repeated measures (Time 2 vs. Time 1). Results: The statistical analyses show an improvement in all factors. The most substantial effects were noticed in overall nonreactivity (d=.83), rumination (d=.72), mindfulness (d=0,67) and observe (d=.63). Most of them improved their results rather than worsened them (see tables) in reflectivity (10 vs 2), mindfulness (10 vs 4), non-judging (9 vs 4), and acting with awareness (9 vs 1 ), resilience (8 vs 2) and flourishing (6 vs 2). Conclusions: short meditation practices together with lectures can provide a range of benefits to therapists and caregivers working with substance use disordered individuals: responding more adaptively to challenging events; coping better with the demands of life by reducing distress, burnout, and other health problems; strengthening resilience and flourishing.
Book of Abstracts [Unofficial – Accepted Presentation, Abstract Submission Ongoing]
Mindfulness for Therapists Working With Substance-Abused Individuals and Their Health, Resilience, and Flourishing: A Case Series Study