Review of third-wave therapies for substance use disorders in people of color and collectivist cultures: Current evidence and future directions.

OBJECTIVE

In people of color (POC) and from collectivist cultures, third-wave therapies utilizing mindfulness may be a more sensitive approach to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, than cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This systematic review examined this hypothesis.

METHOD

We searched PsycINFO, Pubmed, and MEDLINE on December 23, 2021. Articles were included if they compared efficacy of third-wave therapies to therapies with only CBT elements and reported treatment outcomes for POC/people from collectivist cultures.

RESULTS

We included eleven studies conducted in the United States ( = 5), Spain ( = 2), Brazil ( = 2), Hong Kong ( = 1), and Iran ( = 1). Third-wave therapies included mindfulness-based relapse prevention ( = 4), acceptance and commitment therapy ( = 3), yoga and breathing strategies ( = 2), and mindfulness/emotion regulation training ( = 2). The substance use outcomes measured included nicotine use ( = 6), opioid use ( = 1), and general SUDs ( = 4) using biological measures ( = 7), Timeline Followback ( = 4), and the Addiction Severity Index (ASI; = 2) to measure substance use. Overall, eight studies reported greater improvements in the third-wave therapy group relative to the CBT group in POC, on at least one substance use outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that relative to CBT, third-wave therapies are a promising modality in the treatment SUDs in POC and people and from collectivist cultures. However, studies are relatively sparse and carry a number of methodological problems. As such, there remains a need for further research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).