Presenter: Dr. Kelly is the Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is the Founder and Director of the Recovery Research Institute at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the Associate Director of the Center for Addiction Medicine at MGH, and the Founder and Director of the National Center on Youth Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery. Dr. Kelly is a former President of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Society of Addiction Psychology, the current President of the American Board of Addiction Psychology and a Fellow of the APA. He has served as a consultant to U.S. federal agencies and non-federal institutions, as well as foreign governments, the United Nations and the World Health Organization. Dr. Kelly has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, chapters, and books in the field of addiction medicine and been honored with national and international lifetime achievement awards for his research. His work has focused on addiction treatment and the recovery process, mechanisms of behavior change, and reducing stigma and discrimination among individuals suffering from addiction. 


About: During the past 50 years a great deal has been learned about the etiology, epidemiology, typology, and phenomenology of addiction that has uncovered its complex causes, natural history, and highly variable presentation and clinical course. These novel findings have given rise to a number of clinical paradigm shifts and increased awareness of the many pathways through and out of addiction and into remission and long-term recovery. These findings have helped reduce stigmatization of addiction but challenges still remain. This two-part series of talks will review briefly the new knowledge gained during the past 50 years and describe how this has led to shifts in cultural understanding of addiction as well as a renewed focus on how to help individuals suffering from alcohol and other drug use disorders achieve stable remission and long-term recovery.



Learning Objectives:

1. Delineate two factors that inhibit successful recovery from addiction.

2. Describe the evidence base for treatment and recovery support services in addressing addiction.

3. Discuss the rationale for harm reduction, earlier treatment, and the need for recovery support services

4. Describe milestones in addiction recovery and understand their implication

5. Name three types of recovery support services that are shown to enhance addiction remission and recovery