providers may wish to assess whether their clients’ expectations of rejection and discrimination could potentially be limiting their active participation in treatment for their substance use and other psychiatric problems, particularly among those who have internalizing psychiatric comorbidity. Mindfulness interventions in addiction treatment settings have been successful in reducing the shame associated with substance use disorders and improving treatment attendance (Luoma et al. 2012), and treatment providers may want to incorporate mindfulness components into routine care of patients with both AUD and internalizing psychiatric disorders. However, the positive effects of interventions to alleviate stigma at the individual-level (i.e. targeting affected individuals) may not result in broad or long-lasting effects without improving societal attitudes towards individuals with substance use disorders and other psychiatric problems (Livingston et al. 2012; Link 2013). Hence, research on multi-level interventions to address addiction stigma is indicated.
