Researching a New Avenue in Treatment of Alcoholism

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has granted $1.9 million in funding to Gerard J. Connors, Ph.D., professor of Psychology at the University of Buffalo, as well as director of the University's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA), to study the effectiveness of treating alcohol addiction with Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a discipline founded in 1979 by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. As defined by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, MBSR "uses intentional, present-moment awareness to help people experience whatever is happening in life as it unfolds with curiosity, non-judging attention and compassion for yourself and others."

Enhanced with self-mindful meditation, MBSR as a coping mechanism helps people engage in life with tools that allow for more creative and controlled responses over habitual patterns such as worrying about the future, or chronically dwelling on the past, without missing the actual moment.

Connors hopes by employing MBSR as part of alcoholism treatment, alcohol-dependent individuals will develop an increased ability to manage stress and their psychological health rather than turning to alcohol.

As part of a two-pronged study, the first phase will include the development of an eight-session treatment manual for conducting group-based MBSR. The second phase will include a piloted clinical trial, examining the effects of adding MBSR to outpatient treatment. The long-term goal is to decrease relapse drinking following treatment, thereby providing significant health benefits to people being treated for alcohol dependence, with corresponding benefits for their families and the community-at-large.

This new study represents the most recent project in an on-going support of Connors' research by the NIAAA. Further insight into some of Connors' previous or ongoing research in the area of alcoholism recovery and other studies by the Research Institute on Addiction can be found here.

Article: Dealing with Stress as a Treatment for Alcohol Abuse