MINDFULNESS-BASED RELAPSE PREVENTION (MBRP) AT UC SAN DIEGO

An 8-week program combining mindfulness meditation with relapse prevention techniques to help people in recovery from substance use disorders, recognizing, managing discomfort, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

WHAT IS MBRP

MBRP is an evidence-based program integrating mindful meditation with cognitive-behavioral relapse prevention strategies. Designed for
individuals in recovery from substance use disorders, MBRP helps participants develop awareness for internal triggers, cravings, and automatic
behaviors, teaching them to respond skillfully rather than reactively.


Designed for clinicians and professionals, MBRP equips facilitators to lead structured group sessions supporting clients in developing awareness,
resilience, and healthy coping skills. By integrating mindfulness and relapse prevention, the program promotes long-term recovery and fosters
a mindful, balanced approached to life.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Licensed Clinicians

  • Currently licensed in mental health discipline (eg., psychology, counseling, social work)
  • Seeking to expand clinical practice to include MBRP
  • Intention to deliver mindfulness based interventions directly

Clinical Trainees

  • Graduate students, interns, and supervised trainees planning on delivering MBRP in clinical settings
  • Researchers, administrators, or allied professionals
  • Interested in MBRP for professional development

Mindfulness Professionals

  • Maintaining a regular meditation practice
  • Established personal mindfulness practice
  • Committed to integrating mindfulness principles professionally

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Advanced degree in a mental health–related field (e.g., psychology, social work, counseling), or current enrollment in clinical training.

  • Established personal mindfulness meditation practice, with prior training in Vipassana/Insight Meditation preferred.

  • Commitment to ongoing daily meditation practice.

  • Familiarity with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques.

  • Understanding of addiction models and experience working with substance use or addictive behaviors.

  • Experience facilitating group processes.

  • Attendance (prior or planned) at a teacher-led silent residential mindfulness retreat (5–10 days).

What are the benefits?

👁️ Trigger Awareness

Identify internal and external cues that lead to cravings

🧘 Impulse Control

Observe cravings without impulsive reactivity

💢 Distress Tolerance

Tolerate discomfort effectively and responding consciously

💪 Mindful Resilience

Apply mindfulness with cognitive-behavioral techniques

📅 Daily Awareness

Apply mindfulness to everyday activities and triggers

⚖️ Balance & Self-Care

Integrating mindful everyday living for long-term recovery

🛡️ Relapse Prevention

Integrating mindful everyday living for long-term recovery

🛠️ Mindful Maintenance

Plan for ongoing mindfulness practices and relapse prevention

Expectations & Requirements

Curriculum Exercises

Students enrolled in the MBRP course will learn mindfulness techniques through various exercises and practices. Here are some examples of exercises in the curriculum:

Experiential Learning
  • Mindfulness meditation, query and role-playing
Skills-Based Framework
  • Integrating mindfulness and cognitive behavioral relapse prevention strategies
Group-Based Training
  • Delivered in a cohort format with guided discussion and practice
Practice-Oriented
  • Emphasis on applying skills during and between sessions

Commitments

Participation in the MBRP Teacher Training requires a dual commitment: to professional clinical excellence and to sustained personal mindfulness practice. The training assumes that effective teaching emerges from lived experience, disciplined practice, and ethical responsibility to clients in recovery.

If accepted and enrolled, participants commit to:

  • Maintaining a daily mindfulness practice, including full participation in meditation, mindful movement, and retreat components.

  • Bringing professional readiness, including clinical training, familiarity with CBT and addiction models, and experience with group facilitation.

  • Engaging fully in experiential learning, including role-play, inquiry, teaching practice, and feedback integration.

  • Upholding ethical and culturally responsive standards in alignment with professional and CME guidelines.

  • Completing all training requirements, including attendance, required readings, and adherence to registration and payment policies.

  • Continuing ongoing development, including residential retreat participation and sustained personal practice beyond the training.

  • Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for Addictive Behaviors: A Clinician’s Guide — Bowen, Chawla, Grow & Marlatt
  • Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders — Katie Witkiewitz, PhD; G. Alan Marlatt, PhD; Denise Walker, PhD

  • Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, Second Edition — Zindel V. Segal; J. Mark G. Williams; John D. Teasdale
  • Mindfulness and Psychotherapy — Germer C; Siegel RD; Fulton P (eds.)
  • Mindful Recovery — Bein & Bein
  • One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps — Kevin Griffin
  • The Mindful Brain — Daniel J. Siegel, M.D.
  • Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness — Jon Kabat-Zinn
  • The Wise Heart — Jack Kornfield, Ph.D.
  • Radical Acceptance — Tara Brach

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

Program Content Type Here

Continuing Education Credit

Psychologists:

  • Sponsored by UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness
  • 26.0 CE credits
  • APA-approved

Nurses:

  • Approved by California Board of Registered Nursing (Provider CEP16351)
  • 31.0 contact hour

FAQ

While you are asked to note specific food restrictions on your registration application, if there are any additional food or medical concerns we should be aware of please let us know of these in advance so we may assist you.

Check the “Schedule and Required Reading” page of the specific training you are registered to attend.

This training is taught in a retreat format, which means there is a great deal of mindfulness practice embedded in the training, and we want to reiterate that now so you are not surprised when you get here. The venue very much facilitates this format; we will meet, eat and be housed in a relatively secluded area. There are no other large groups planned in the center that week so it should be relatively quiet and secluded. The rooms are clean and comfortable, but not by any means luxurious. As you probably noted on the website, you will have a roommate. In most cases several of you will share a dorm-style bathroom nearby.

If it is at all possible, please bring a meditation cushion (zafu) and a yoga mat. We will have a few cushions but not enough to go around, so if you have one and can squeeze it into your luggage or bring it as a carry-on please consider doing so. It is always advisable to check the weather forecast prior to traveling, to help guide you in proper clothing choices.

The relatively remote location makes security a minor concern, but we do want people to know that with shared sleeping quarters and very limited availability of keys to lock rooms, we highly recommend leaving valuable items at home to reduce the possibility of anything being lost or stolen. Certainly some of us will have vehicles where such items can be secured if this is necessary.

The retreat center is often booked both right before and right after our training, so arriving early or staying an extra night or two after the retreat is over is not likely to be a possibility. You can of course arrange to stay at lodging near the retreat center if you would like to extend your stay. Contact us directly at mindfulness@ucsd.edu to make such arrangements.

See our LOCATIONS page for details about travel to the retreat centers and preferred airports. The UCSD Center for Mindfulness will set up a Ride Share Bulletin Board in coordinating shuttle rides for those arriving by air at local airports.

Please do not expect consistent or reliable wireless internet service at the retreat center. Because of the retreat nature of the training, it is advisable to leave your computer at home; however, we recognize that computer use may sometimes be necessary. Most cellular phones will work in this location. That said, there will be limited opportunities to use them. We recommend informing anyone who may need to contact you about these limitations in advance.

We will begin checking people into the retreat at 1:00 pm on the first day of the training. It may be possible to arrive before 1:00 pm and have access to your room; however, we ask that you plan to arrive no later than 5:00 pm so we can begin with the full group in attendance at dinnertime. The retreat will conclude by 1:00 pm on the last day, so please plan your travel accordingly. While circumstances may arise that require leaving earlier than noon on the final day, we strongly urge you to avoid doing so if at all possible.