Browsing by Subject "journaling"
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Item Gratitude and Positive Activity Planning to Support Recovery from Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders(2018-06) Krentzman, Amy R.; Goodenough, Karen E.; Banerjee, Rekha; Daughters, Stacey B.Purpose: Enhancing quality of life during early abstinence is a compelling strategy for reducing relapse. Gratitude practices have been shown to improve affect, and activity scheduling has been shown to promote enjoyment of daily activities. A simple practice for gratitude and activity scheduling is needed to encourage its regular enactment throughout recovery. We developed a ten-minute-a-day journaling practice to encourage gratitude, goal setting, and positive-activity planning to improve quality of life in recovery and reduce relapse. Methods: In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 individuals (57% in recovery from AUD/SUD, 14% treatment providers, 29% both) to ascertain their perspectives of the journaling practice. The journaling practice was presented to and briefly practiced by participants, who were then probed for subjective, qualitative impressions of it. The journaling practice uses standard journals printed with column headings under which individuals make bullet-pointed lists. On the left-hand page, the past 24 hours is recalled via column headings to promote gratitude: “good things that happened” and “things I am grateful for.” On the right-hand page, activities for the upcoming 24 hours are planned via headings representing valued life domains, i.e., work, social, health, joy, household, recovery, spirituality. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, analyzed for themes, and interpreted for relationships among themes. Results: Participants were 57% female, mean age 50 years, length of abstinence 11 days to 36 years. Participants found the practice acceptable and easy as well as useful to recovery. Participants stated the practice would enable them to express gratitude, plan activities, and set goals; and also to notice change over time, guide self-discovery, identify issues to work on, gain emotional relief, and acknowledge successes. Negative impressions included that for some, setting multiple daily goals might feel overwhelming, failure to follow through on planned activity might produce negative emotion, and weaker writing skills might cause embarrassment. Conclusions: For many, the journal would function as a mirror, providing perspective on past, present, and future self. Sharing the journal with another person would allow the authentic self to be known. Future work will examine the efficacy of integrating gratitude journaling into existing standardized behavioral activation therapy for substance use, namely LETS ACT.Item Journaling to Support Recovery from Alcohol and Other Substance Use Disorders: Feasibility Results from a Randomized Controlled Pilot(2023-06) Krentzman, Amy; Hoeppner, Susanne; Hoeppner, Bettina; Barnett, NancyPurpose: Positive psychology, behavioral activation, and journaling have been shown to improve affect and decrease addictive behavior among individuals with SUD and AUD. We combined aspects of these approaches in “Positive Recovery Journaling” (PRJ), a daily writing practice, to improve wellbeing in early recovery. In this pilot randomized controlled trial, we sought to determine the feasibility and acceptability of PRJ in a study conducted remotely during COVID 19. Methods: Participants (N = 81; M = 39 years old, 46% indicating alcohol as primary addiction) were recruited from three treatment centers in the Upper Midwest. Individuals randomized to PRJ learned the technique over 8 group sessions and practiced it daily for 4 weeks followed immediately by completion of daily assessment instruments. The control group only completed daily assessment instruments. Feasibility and acceptability were assessed by recruitment, retention, rates of journal upload, and group attendance. We used multilevel models to compare the treatment and control groups’ average ratings of study activities as difficult, easy, satisfying, pleasant, and helpful. Results: Of patients who met inclusion criteria (N = 86), 81 (94.2%) agreed to participate. Attendance at group sessions ranged from zero to eight (M = 5.3, SD = 2.8); three (7.1%) attended zero groups and 15 (35.7%) attended all eight groups. The 42 treatment group members submitted 584 journal entries (ranging from 0 to a maximum of 28, M = 13.9, SD = 9.7). Survey completion rates at the 1-month follow-up were 53.4% for the treatment group and 71.8% of the control group (X2 p = .072). Participants rated study activities as equally easy and not difficult. The treatment group rated PRJ as significantly more satisfying, pleasant, and helpful (all at p < .001), showing high acceptability of PRJ especially since the control group reported benefitting from the daily surveys. Conclusions: This population showed a strong interest in journaling. Despite the challenges of conducting a study remotely during COVID 19, it was still possible to recruit and retain a treatment sample who attended the majority of group sessions and rated PRJ as no more difficult, and yet more satisfying, pleasant, and helpful, than the control group’s activities.