Which therapeutic approach incorporates mindfulness practices to help prevent relapse?

• A. Mindfulness based relapse prevention
• B. Neonatal abstinence syndrome
• C. Mutual help organizations
• D. Neurotransmitter

Answer: (A)

Mindfulness-based relapse prevention uses mindfulness practices to change how a person responds to cravings and stressors that can trigger relapse. By training attention and nonjudgmental awareness, individuals notice craving sensations, thoughts, and emotions as they arise rather than reacting automatically. This creates a brief pause that allows for deliberate choice instead of impulsive use. Through skills like urge surfing, breath awareness, body scan, and mindful movement, cravings are experienced as temporary events, while coping strategies are applied to manage them.

This approach blends mindfulness training with relapse-prevention techniques to reduce reactivity to negative feelings and improve emotion regulation and cognitive control, which helps break the cycle that leads to relapse. It’s distinct from neonatal abstinence syndrome (a medical condition in newborns), mutual help organizations (peer support groups), and neurotransmitters (biochemical substances), none of which are therapeutic approaches designed to prevent relapse.