Wellness, Alcohol, Vitals, and Emotions
Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention and Psychophysiological Self-Regulation
University of New Mexico
120 participants
Oct 1, 2025
INTERVENTIONAL
Conditions
Summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to examine the effects of mindfulness based relapse prevention on self-regulation overtime and drinking in daily life through the use of wearable heart rate sensors during mindfulness groups and answering assessment questions 3 times per day during the course of treatment. The main questions that it aims to answer are: 1. What changes in self-regulation as measured through heart rate variability are observed during a mindfulness intervention and how do those self-regulatory changes affect drinking after treatment? 2. How do changes in heart rate variability affect drinking, craving, and negative affectivity in daily life? Participants will: 1. Answer questions related to their mood and drinking behaviors. 2. Wear their sensors during an 8-week treatment period with 1 group per week. 3. Answer questions 3 times a day during the treatment period. 4.) Return their sensors via a pre-stamped package and answer questions about their mood and drinking behaviors 3- and 6-months after the mindfulness groups end.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria7
- 18 years of age or older
- Meet criteria for a moderate to severe alcohol use disorder within the previous 3-months.
- Able to attend group meetings at the time listed on the recruitment materials.
- Willing to wear a sensor for the 8-week intervention period and return the sensor after the immediate follow-up.
- Have a phone/tablet/computer with internet access.
- Be able to comprehend and consent to study requirements in English.
- Have access to a valid U.S. mailing address for receiving the HRV sensors and reside in the United States.
Exclusion Criteria3
- Current symptoms of psychosis or mania.
- Have a substance use disorder requiring a higher level of care than outpatient treatment (e.g., severe alcohol use disorder requiring inpatient detoxification).
- Have a history of pulmonary or cardiovascular disease that interferes with sensor data collection and HRV metrics (i.e., ectopic beats, arrythmia, congenital heart disease).
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Interventions
Mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) is a group-based treatment to provide individuals with skills intended to foster increased awareness of triggers, destructive habitual patterns, and "automatic" reactions to triggering experiences. Mindfulness practices in MBRP are designed to help individuals pause, observe present experience, and bring awareness to the range of choices available in every moment. Through MBRP individuals learn to respond in ways that serve them, rather than react in ways that are detrimental to their health and happiness.
Locations(1)
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NCT06982443