The Addiction Psychologist Podcast
Dr. Noah Emery and Samuel Acuff interview researchers, clinicians, and policymakers in the field of addiction psychology with the hopes of enhancing recovery. New episodes the second Monday of every month, with some added content in between. The podcast can also be accessed through Apple podcasts and Spotify. Official podcast of the Society for Addiction Psychology. Transcripts of each episode can be found by clicking here.
posted: Monday, May 22, 2023 - 06:52
During the past several decades, the United States has experienced several distinct waves of opioid epidemic, prompting those providing services to think of novel ways to provide services. to those in need. Dr. Rachel Winograd found her passion for community-based harm reduction services in St. Louis, a city ravaged by wave after wave of the opioid epidemic, and quickly found her place within a network of harm reductionists, community-based providers, and policy makers in Missouri with a common goal. In this episode, Dr. Winograd teaches us about the opioid epidemic and shares about the work she and her team has done to test and disseminate evidence-based harm reduction services in the greater St. Louis area. Dr. Winograd is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences and the Missouri Institute of Mental Health at the University of Missouri-St Louis. To learn more, please visit www.mimhaddisci.org.
posted: Thursday, April 13, 2023 - 06:22
For many, the onset of substance use occurs in adolescence. A subset of adolescents who use substances develop substance use disorders later in life, and some even develop harmful patterns of drinking while still in the developmental stage of adolescence. Why is substance use initiation likely in this age group, and what is the developmental function of substance use behavior? What are the interpersonal processes that influence substance use, and how do relationships with friends and family change during this critical developmental stage? Is it possible to leverage these interpersonal processes to bolster treatment initiation and success? Dr. Sam Meisel answers these questions and more as he discusses the complex social environment of the adolescent and it's pertinence to understanding substance use. Dr. Sam Meisel is a Research Scientist at Bradley Hospital and the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies in the Brown University School of Public Health.
posted: Monday, March 13, 2023 - 06:15
Dr. Bill Stoops provides an overview of the pharmacology, effects, and prevalence of cocaine, in addition to treatments for cocaine use disorder. Dr. Bill Stoops is an Associate Director for Clinical Science in the Substance Use Priority Research Area, and a Professor in the Departments of Behavioral Science, Psychiatry, and Psychology, and in the Center for Drug and Alcohol Research, at the University of Kentucky.
posted: Tuesday, December 20, 2022 - 06:22
Alcohol and other drugs are sometimes accompanied by harms from use. However, use only accounts for some of the variance in substance use harms, and their are strategies, and harms can be reduced through other means aside from reductions in substance use. This is particularly important because many who use substances do not have a desire to quit or cut down on their use, even if they do experience harms. In this episode, Dr. Mark Prince discusses the literature on protective behavioral strategies, or any behavioral strategy that may reduce the harm of substance use, often through reduction of risky behaviors while using (i.e., drinking and driving) or through changes in the way the substance is consumed (i.e., drinking water in between alcoholic drinks). Dr. Prince is an Associate Professor and the Associate Director of Addiction Counseling in the Department of Psychology at Colorado State University.
Click here for Dr. Prince's paper quantifying the variance unexplained by alcohol consumption alone.
posted: Monday, October 3, 2022 - 08:04
Sexual assault is a massive problem on college campuses, and alcohol is involved in some form or another in more than half of cases reported. Dr. Jen Read talks about her work to understand the complex social environment within which sexual assault often takes place, and her work to design interventions to reduce the rate of sexual assault. Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that intervention and prevention approaches targeting the perpetrators do not work. However, sexual assaults often take place in complex social environments, and interventions may be able to leverage friendships to create more explicit conversations about how to protect one another during a night out. Dr. Jen Read is a renowned scientist known for her work illuminating harms and developing intervention approaches to reduce drinking among college students. Dr. Read is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Psychology at the University at Buffalo.