Most clients already know their habit is hurting them. Knowing is rarely enough, because the thinking brain goes offline exactly when a craving hits. This live, interactive training introduces the Mindshift Method, developed with addiction psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Judson Brewer, which works with the brain's reward-based learning system instead of fighting it. You will learn how the habit loop drives substance use, smoking and other addictive behaviors, what neuroimaging and app-based studies show about curiosity lowering the reward value of a habit, and how the three gears of awareness, curiosity and choice give clients room to respond differently. You will also practice two short awareness exercises you can bring into counseling, CBT, MAT or 12-step-based care the next day.
Who this is for
Addiction counselors, social workers, psychologists, nurses, peer recovery specialists, and other clinicians and health-care professionals who support people with substance use, smoking and other addictive behaviors. No prior mindfulness training needed.
Content level
Introductory
NAADAC Counselor Skill Group
Counseling Services
What you'll learn
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
Identify the three components of the habit loop (trigger, behavior, reward) and describe how reward-based learning reinforces addictive behaviors.
Describe how present-moment awareness and curiosity reduce the reward value of an addictive behavior, including the role of the default mode network.
Apply the three gears of the Mindshift Method (awareness, curiosity, choice) to a client's craving or urge as it happens.
Demonstrate two brief awareness practices (awareness of breath and noting) that can be integrated into existing treatment such as counseling, CBT, MAT or 12-step-based care.
Agenda (60 minutes)
Minutes
Segment
0-5
Welcome, presenters, objectives
5-15
The habit loop and reward-based learning: old brain, new brain, why we can't think our way out
15-20
Practice: awareness of breath
20-30
The default mode network, worry and craving: what the brain imaging shows
30-40
The three gears: awareness, curiosity, choice, and craving in real time
40-45
Practice: noting
45-50
The evidence: reward value drops with curiosity; participant voices
50-60
Bringing it into your practice: discussion and Q&A
Format
Live, interactive Zoom meeting, 60 minutes. Cameras optional; you can ask questions out loud or in the chat. The session is not recorded, so plan to attend live. Your Zoom link arrives in your confirmation email.
What you get
1 NAADAC CE hour and a certificate of completion
A PDF of the slides
Two short practices you can use with clients the next day
International Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ICADC), International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium · Certified Addictions Counselor (CAC), Florida Certification Board · Certified MBSR Teacher, UMass Medical School Center for Mindfulness · MBI-TAC Level I and II, Brown University
Mary Beth Stern is Mindshift Recovery's Facilitation Team Mindfulness Leader and an internationally certified addictions counselor with over a decade of clinical leadership. For about ten years she has trained and worked with Dr. Judson Brewer, bringing the Mindshift Method to groups and individuals working with substance use, smoking and other addictive behaviors. A certified MBSR teacher, she has taught more than 75 eight-week MBSR courses, develops curriculum for treatment programs, and mentors Mindshift's facilitators.
B.A., Biology, Brown University · MBSR teacher training, Brown University · MBCT-L, Oxford Mindfulness Foundation · Mindful Self-Compassion, Center for Mindful Self-Compassion · Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (David Treleaven)
Atabey Sánchez-Haiman is a Mindshift Recovery facilitator, biologist and mindfulness-based intervention teacher. She leads Mindshift's weekly live online recovery meetings, weaving neuroscience-informed habit-change tools with self-compassion, and trained in the Mindshift Method with Dr. Judson Brewer and Robin Boudette, PhD. She also facilitates for Frazzled UK and the Greater Good Science Center and teaches on the Mindfulness Based Ethical Living teacher training team.
Frequently asked questions
No. You receive a certificate of completion for 1 CE hour. Mindshift is planning a separate certification program for 2027; you can register interest on the Training page.
No. It is live only, and CE credit requires live attendance.
Your Zoom link arrives in your confirmation email from hello@mindshiftrecovery.org after you register. It's the only place we send it, so please keep that email.
Within 14 days after the session, once you've attended the full live session and completed the short evaluation form.
Many addiction-counseling boards do, but each board sets its own rules. Please check with your board before registering.
Full refund if you cancel at least 48 hours before the session starts. After that, or if you don't attend, we'll credit your registration to the next session. To cancel, email hello@mindshiftrecovery.org.
Zoom live captions are on for the whole session. If you need another accommodation, such as an ASL interpreter or materials in an accessible format, email hello@mindshiftrecovery.org at least one week before the session and we'll do our best to arrange it.
