Rationale, design, and implementation of a clinical trial of a mindfulness-based relapse prevention protocol for the treatment of women with comorbid post traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder.
Contemporary Clinical Trials October 1, 2017 Caroline Vrana, Therese K Killeen, Victoria Brant et al.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUD) often co-occur, leading to more complex symptoms and worse outcomes than either disorder alone, and untreated PTSD can predict relapse to substance abuse. Integrated treatments can safely address both disorders together, but dropout and relapse rates remain high. Mindfulness-based approaches, particularly Mindfulness-based Relapse Prevention (MBRP), which combines cognitive-behavioral relapse prevention with mindfulness practices, may offer additional benefits. This paper presents the design of a Stage 1b behavioral development study that modifies MBRP for women with comorbid PTSD and SUD in a community setting. The study involves revising an existing manual, piloting the intervention, and testing it in a randomized controlled pilot trial.