Body-Focused Mindfulness as an Add-on Intervention in Inpatient Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment (MBI-AUD-PL)

NCT07706660 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 2403/2026/09
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 240
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a body-focused mindfulness program can help people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) feel more connected to their bodies and manage their emotions better. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does the mindfulness program reduce feelings of disconnection from the body (bodily dissociation)? Does it improve awareness of body signals (interoceptive awareness)? Does it lower alcohol craving and reduce the chance of returning to drinking after leaving the hospital? Researchers will compare participants who receive the mindfulness program to participants who receive standard psychoeducation sessions, within the same overall inpatient AUD treatment program. Participants will:

• Take part in 6 weekly group sessions (90 minutes each) of body-focused mindfulness, which includes breathing exercises, body scan, gentle movement, and group discussion.
• Receive audio recordings of guided mindfulness exercises to practice independently between sessions.
• Complete questionnaires about their emotions, body awareness, and alcohol craving before and after the program.
• Be followed up at 4 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months after leaving the hospital to track their drinking.

Conditions

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD); Alcohol-Related Disorders

Keywords

mindfulness; body-focused mindfulness; interoception; bodily dissociation; emotion regulation; alexithymia; inpatient treatment; alcohol use disorder; body awareness; randomized controlled trial

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, Version 2 (MAIA-2) - total score

  The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, Version 2 (MAIA-2) is a 37-item self-report questionnaire assessing eight dimensions of interoceptive awareness including noticing, attention regulation, emotional awareness, self-regulation, body listening, and trusting bodily sensations (Mehling et al., 2018). Total score ranges from 0 to 185, with higher scores indicating greater interoceptive awareness (better outcome).

  Baseline and 6 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (11)

• Scale of Body Connection - Bodily Dissociation subscale (SBC-BD)

  Baseline and 6 weeks

• Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) - total score

  Baseline and 6 weeks

• Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) - total score

  Baseline and 6 weeks

• Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) - total score

  Baseline and 6 weeks

• Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS)

  Baseline and 6 weeks

Other Outcomes (2)

• Body Maps - Bodily Sensation Phenomenology (paper-based measure)

  Baseline and 6 weeks

• Post-Session Single-Item Measures (three NRS items)

  After each session, up to 6 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Body-Focused Mindfulness

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive standard inpatient AUD treatment plus 6 weekly 90-minute body-focused mindfulness group sessions (breath awareness, body scan, mindful movement, and structured inquiry). Sessions are delivered in an open circular group format without direct reference to alcohol use. Participants receive audio recordings of guided mindfulness exercises and are encouraged to practice independently (5-10 minutes daily) between sessions.

Behavioral: Body-Focused Mindfulness Intervention

Psychoeducation (Active Comparator)

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants receive standard inpatient AUD treatment plus 6 weekly 90-minute psychoeducation group sessions covering standard topics related to alcohol use disorder, recovery, and coping strategies. All other components of the treatment program are identical to the experimental group.

Behavioral: Standard Psychoeducation

Interventions

Body-Focused Mindfulness Intervention BEHAVIORAL

Six weekly 90-minute group sessions incorporating breath-focused meditation, body scan (lying and seated positions), mindful movement and stretching, and structured inquiry. Delivered in an open circular group format by therapists trained in mindfulness-based approaches. No direct reference to alcohol use. Participants receive audio recordings of guided mindfulness exercises and are encouraged to practice independently (5-10 minutes daily) between sessions.

Body-Focused Mindfulness

Standard Psychoeducation BEHAVIORAL

Six weekly 90-minute group psychoeducation sessions added to standard inpatient AUD treatment. Sessions cover standard topics related to alcohol use disorder, recovery, and coping strategies. Delivered by the same therapists as the experimental group. All other components of the inpatient treatment program are identical between groups.

Psychoeducation (Active Comparator)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Diagnosis of Alcohol Use Disorder (DSM-5)
• Currently admitted to the inpatient AUD treatment program at the study ward
• Age 18 years or older
• Written informed consent provided

You may not qualify if:

• Refusal to participate or withdrawal of consent
• Severe somatic condition precluding participation in group activities
• Current acute psychotic symptoms
• Severe affective symptoms requiring intensive intervention
• High current suicide risk
• Epileptic seizure within 2 weeks prior to randomization
• Intellectual disability or significant cognitive impairment preventing understanding of or adherence to the study protocol
• Severe personality disorder with current self-harm or other-harm behaviors

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Medical University of Warsaw: lead
• University of Warsaw: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Ward XVIII for Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment, Nowowiejski Hospital, Warsaw

Warsaw, Mazovian, 01-045, Poland

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Cheng SC, Thompson EA, Price CJ. The Scale of Body Connection: A Multisample Study to Examine Sensitivity to Change Among Mind-Body and Bodywork Interventions. J Integr Complement Med. 2022 Jul;28(7):600-606. doi: 10.1089/jicm.2021.0397. Epub 2022 Apr 22.

  PMID: 35452263 BACKGROUND

• Price CJ, Thompson EA. Measuring dimensions of body connection: body awareness and bodily dissociation. J Altern Complement Med. 2007 Nov;13(9):945-53. doi: 10.1089/acm.2007.0537.

  PMID: 18047441 BACKGROUND

• Mehling WE, Acree M, Stewart A, Silas J, Jones A. The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, Version 2 (MAIA-2). PLoS One. 2018 Dec 4;13(12):e0208034. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208034. eCollection 2018.

  PMID: 30513087 BACKGROUND

• Treves IN, Chen YY, Wilson CL, Verdonk C, Qina'au J, Pustejovsky JE, Goldberg SB, Mehling W, Schuman-Olivier Z, Khalsa SS. Minding the Body: A Meta-analysis of the Effects of Mindfulness Meditation Training on Self-reported Interoception. Res Sq [Preprint]. 2025 Jun 4:rs.3.rs-6792067. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6792067/v1.

  PMID: 40502790 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alcoholism; Alcohol-Related Disorders; Emotional Regulation; Affective Symptoms

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders; Self-Control; Social Behavior; Behavior; Behavioral Symptoms

Study Officials

• Andrzej Jakubczyk, MD, PhD

  Medical University of Warsaw

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Marcin Wojnar, MD, PhD

  Medical University of Warsaw

  STUDY CHAIR

Central Study Contacts

Andrzej Jakubczyk, MD, PhD

CONTACT

+48506647114; andrzej.jakubczyk@wum.edu.pl

Hubert Suszek, PhD

CONTACT

+48604202554; hubert.suszek@psych.uw.edu.pl

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw

Model Details: Both groups receive the standard inpatient AUD treatment program (group psychotherapy, psychiatric care, and other therapeutic activities). The two groups differ only in one component: the experimental group receives 6 weekly 90-minute body-focused mindfulness sessions, while the active comparator group receives 6 weekly 90-minute standard psychoeducation sessions. All other treatment components are identical between groups.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 15, 2026
• First Posted: July 16, 2026
• Study Start: July 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2029
• Last Updated: July 16, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

PL (1)