PROFESSOR ALAN MARLATT TO SPEAK AT UKESAD

G Alan Marlatt PhD...

is professor of Psychology and director of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center at the University of Washington. 

He is an internationally recognised psychologist in the field of addiction, and has served as a visiting faculty member at universities in countries including Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany and Scandinavia.  His present academic appointment is supported by a Senior Scientist Award from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 

His research has been recognised by the following awards: a MERIT Grant award from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (1989), a Distinguished Psychologist award for Professional Contribution to Knowledge from the Washington State Psychological Association (1990), the Jellinek Memorial Award for Alcohol Studies (1990), a Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology (2000), and the Innovators Combating Substance Abuse Award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2001).

His major focus in both research and clinical work is the field of addictive behaviours. Recent research includes: Prevention of alcohol problems among college students; Prevention of alcohol and drug problems among native-american youth; and Evaluation of mindfulness meditation for outpatient clients with addiction problems. He will be presenting on the last topic at the 5th UK/European Symposium on Addictive Disorders in London, May 2008.

Professor Marlatt has conducted basic research on cognitive-behavioural factors in addiction, including expectancies for alcohol and drug effects (research using the balanced-placebo design), social facilitation of alcohol use, and the role of stress and coping in substance use. His applied research has focused on relapse prevention in treatment of addictive behaviour problems, including alcohol dependence, substance abuse, and sexual paraphilias (eg paedophilia).

In addition to over 200 published journal articles and book chapters, he has served as editor/author for several books in the addictions field, including Alcoholism: New Directions in Behavioral Research and Treatment (Plenum 1978), Relapse Prevention (Guilford 1985, 2005), Assessment of Addictive Behaviors (Guilford 1988, 2005), Addictive Behaviors Across the Lifespan (Sage 1993), Changing Addictive Behavior (Guilford, 1999), Harm Reduction (Guilford 1998) and BASICS Manual (Guilford 1999).  He has served on the editorial boards of 29 professional journals, including the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Addictive Behaviors, and the Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 

He is also a consultant with the Veterans Administration, the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the Institute of Medicine, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.  In 1996, Dr Marlatt was appointed a member of the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse for the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH).  He served as the President of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors (1983-1984), President of the Section for the Development of Clinical Psychology as an Experimental-Behavioral Science (Division 12, of the American Psychological Association, 1985-1986), and President of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy (1991-1992).

He received his PhD in clinical psychology from Indiana University in 1968 and served a clinical internship at Napa State Hospital in California (1967-1968).  After serving on the faculties of the University of British Columbia (1968-1969) and the University of Wisconsin (1969-1972), he joined the University of Washington faculty in 1972.

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS:

·         Radin SM, Neighbors C, Silk-Walker P, Walker D, Marlatt GA, Larimer M (2006): The changing influences of self-worth and peer deviance on drinking problems in urban American Indian adolescents. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 20 (2), 161-170.

·         Leigh J, Bowen S, Marlatt GA (2005): Spirituality, mindfulness, and substance abuse. Addictive Behaviors, 30(7), 1335-1341.

·         Marlatt GA, Donovan,DM (Eds) (2005): Relapse Prevention: Maintenance strategies in the treatment of addictive behaviors (2nd Ed). New York, NY, Guilford Press.

·         Witkiewitz K, Marlatt GA & Walker DD (2005): Mindfulness-based relapse prevention for alcohol use disorders: The meditative tortoise wins the race. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 19 (3), 221-228.

RESEARCH SUPPORT

·         Innovative Approaches to Modeling Alcohol Relapse 

·         Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention. 

·         Housing First: Evaluation of Harm Reduction Housing for Chronic Public Inebriates.