Mindfulness-based interventions in inpatient treatment for Substance Use Disorders: A systematic review

Abstract

Inpatient treatment for Substance Use Disorder (SUD), such as Therapeutic Communities and Residential Treatment has been used to test the effect of Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBI) over different outcomes. Although there is evidence of the effectiveness of MBIs, little is known about the particularities that the place may have in the outcomes.The main objective of this Systematic Review was to evaluate the effectiveness of MBIs for SUDs performed in the inpatient context.PubMed, Web of Science and PsycInfo were used for the search. Quantitative and qualitative studies with no control, usual treatment or other active comparator intervention for SUDs inpatient treatment from 1980 to 2020 were included. From 21 selected studies, 18 were quantitative and 3 qualitative; 12 studies were RCT. Most samples were comprised with women.Based on characteristics of outcomes, we were able to divide them into: Substance Use and Associated Outcomes, Stress, Impulsivity e Evaluation of the MBI protocol. Results suggest that stress assessment is a determining factor for treatment success in these settings. Regarding substance use, although several outcomes have been assessed, the most remarkable results were craving reduction and improvement in treatment adherence. There is evidence that MBIs in inpatient settings benefited those who participated in the experimental groups on some outcomes, such as stress and substance use. Little is mentioned about the impact of the environment over the outcomes and short follow-ups were a relevant limitation of most of the studies. Future assessments must increase follow-up time and evaluate the relationship between the context and the MBI.

Keywords

• Mindfulness
• Substance use disorder
• Therapeutic community
• Residential treatment