Mindfulness Exercise for Substance Use
by Devin Ashwood

Mastery in Minutes

Do you have clients struggling with addictions? “Urge Surfing” is a simple yet effective mindfulness technique you can teach clients to help them manage the stressors that could potentially trigger relapses.
Access Now

This content is exclusive to our members and subscribers. Click below to find a plan that best meets your needs:

Solo Practitioner
Staff Training
Universities
We hear a lot about mindfulness these days, but it’s not always clear how to actually incorporate it effectively into psychotherapy or in this case, addiction treatment. In this demonstration you’ll see an example of a mindfulness exercise that is specifically focused on helping clients experience their cravings while not acting on them. The facilitator, Devin Ashwood, uses the metaphor of “Urge Surfing”—riding through the waves of cravings—to give his group members an opportunity to observe their own internal urges, whether manifested as bodily sensations, thoughts, or emotions, and realize that, although uncomfortable, the urges were not intolerable.

Although this is demonstrated in a group setting, this technique can be applied in individual therapy; and while the focus here is on substance use, patients who experience other forms of addictions can also benefit from learning this simple tool for tolerating emotional and sometimes, physical discomfort in order to ultimately move beyond cravings.

Psychotherapy.net presents Mastery in Minutes

Looking for ways to enrich your practice but don’t have time to watch a full-length video?
Working with a challenging client? Want quick tips for specific topics? Psychotherapy.net’s Mastery in Minutes video collection has you covered. Mastery in Minutes is a time-efficient way to get…

  • Speedy solutions for challenging clients
  • Targeted tools for specialized skillsets
  • Bite-sized videos covering specific techniques
  • Trusted tips from leaders in the field

Available only to our members and subscribers. Find out how to access this video for individual use, for more than one person using multiple-user access, or for use in academic institutions.
Specs
Bios
Disclosures

Length of video: 0:20:16

English subtitles available

Group ISBN-10 #: 1-60124-593-9

Group ISBN-13 #: 978-1-60124-593-9

Devin Ashwood has worked in a range of substance misuse settings and is currently program leader and lecturer in addictions counseling for the Centre for Addiction Treatment Studies and the University of Bath. His specialties include mindfulness, interpersonal group therapy and cognitive therapy. He has been working in private practice as a therapist and supervisor for over ten years and has been delivering and teaching interpersonal group therapy since 2006. Devin’s work with the Mindfulness Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) authors Sarah Bowen and Neha Chawla has helped develop and deliver a version of MBRP compatible with rolling treatment programs as well as an advanced training pathway for mindfulness teachers. He has been practicing mindfulness since 1999 and has studied with, and conducted research at the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice on the University of Bangor’s master’s program. Devin leads a number of meditation groups and retreats throughout the year including offering his time as a Buddhist Chaplain to the prison service.

Devin Ashwood was compensated for his/her/their contribution. None of his/her/their books or additional offerings are required for any of the Psychotherapy.net content. Should such materials be references, it is as an additional resource.

Psychotherapy.net defines ineligible companies as those whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. There is no minimum financial threshold; individuals must disclose all financial relationships, regardless of the amount, with ineligible companies. We ask that all contributors disclose any and all financial relationships they have with any ineligible companies whether the individual views them as relevant to the education or not.

Additionally, there is no commercial support for this activity. None of the planners or any employee at Psychotherapy.net who has worked on this educational activity has relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies.
This Disclosure Statement has been designed to meet accreditation standards; Psychotherapy.net does its best to mitigate potential conflicts of interest and eliminate bias in all areas of content. Experts are compensated for their contributions to our training videos; while some of them have published works, the purchase of additional materials are not required for any Psychotherapy.net training. Each experts’ specific disclosures can be found in their biography.

Psychotherapy.net offers trainings for cost but has no financial or other relationships to disclose.
Access Now

This content is exclusive to our members and subscribers. Click below to find a plan that best meets your needs:

Solo Practitioner
Staff Training
Universities
You May Also Like…