It seems highly unlikely that a 6-hr group alone was responsible for the gains seen, but rather something in the 6 hr spent in the ACT group changed the overall effect of this residential program. Unhealthy suppression of shame may be involved in the treatment high sometimes seen in early recovery in which sobriety can lead to unrealistic treatment gains, only to be followed by urges to use, relapse, or depression (e.g., Brook & Spitz, 2002, p. 72). Those in the 12-step tradition have discussed this as the “pink cloud” or “rosy glow” phenomenon, but with a few exceptions (e.g., Mowbray et al., 1995; Najavits, Weiss, & Liese, 1996), relatively little has been written about it within scientific journals. It seems plausible that these 6 hr kept participants from interacting with the overall treatment program in a way that produced illusory short-term gains, perhaps by helping them experience shame in a more open and mindful fashion, thereby allowing the emotion to perform its regulatory function of warning against or punishing violations of personal values or social norms and of helping
