G. Alan Marlatt, PhD

Three days of seminars

Mindfulness: Expanding Psychotherapy

Dr. Marlatt will present theories of mindfulness, based on an integration of cognitive-behavioral approaches with Buddhist philosophy. He will review evidence-based mindfulness treatment approaches, including Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (developed by Dr. Zindel Segal).

Two treatment programs applying mindfulness for individuals with addiction problems will be presented, both under the direction of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA.

The first program consists of a ten-day meditation retreat (Vipassana meditation) offered to prison inmates in a minimum-security correctional facility. Outcome data will be presented showing that participation in this retreat was associated with significant reductions in alcohol/drug use at a three-month follow-up assessment.

The second program, Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention, is designed as an group-based outpatient intervention (eight weekly sessions) and is currently being evaluated in a randomized clinical trial in Seattle. Preliminary results will be described, along with a description of the program components.

Clinical Training: Participants will learn procedures for delivering the overview and rationale for a mindfulness treatment approach, illustrated through excerpts from videotaped therapy sessions. Participants will practice delivering mindfulness interventions through role plays, as well as practicing various mindfulness exercises in group.

Empirical Research: Dr. Marlatt will present updates on recent (a) randomized clinical trials, (b) translational research, (c) empirical studies on mediators and mechanisms of change, (d) cost-analysis, and (e) current and future research questions.

Workshop Schedule (Mindfulness) [PDF] »

Resource Page (Registered users only) »

Relapse Prevention and Harm Reduction in the Treatment of Addictive Behaviors

Addictive Behaviors Day 1, Relapse Prevention, Monday 17 December: We will focus on relapse prevention and include the following topics: Overview of relapse rates for alcohol/drug treatment programs, theoretical models of determinants of relapse, a description of relapse triggers and high-risk situations, and an overview of coping skills designed to prevent relapse.

Addictive Behaviors Day 2, Harm Reduction, Tuesday 18 December: We will cover harm reduction as an intervention that can be applied both to relapse management (overlap with relapse prevention) or as a treatment approach for individuals who are unwilling or unable to commit to an abstinence goal. The following topics will be covered: History and overview of basic principles of harm reduction, clinical strategies designed to reduce harmful consequences, and brief interventions applying harm reduction to adolescents and young adults who are having problems with alcohol.

Clinical Training: (Both Day 1 & 2) During the clinical segments of the workshop, I will describe the different procedures of the two treatment approaches, and will illustrate them with excerpts from videotaped sessions. Participants will learn how to deliver the treatment procedures through role plays of each component of the treatments, and through participation on various excercises and discussions in group.

Relapse Prevention Objectives:

1. Get an overview of relapse rates for alcohol/drug treatment programs
2. Learn theoretical models of determinants of relapse, a description of relapse triggers and high-risk situations
3. Get an overview of coping skills designed to prevent relapse, and aquire skills to implement the clinical strategies
4. Lifestyle balance: Aquire skills to implement clinical strategies for relapse prevention over the long-term

Harm Reduction Objectives:

1. Learn about the history and overview of basic principles of harm reduction
2. Learn about harm reduction applied to relapse management (overlap with relapse prevention)
3. Aquire skills to implement clinical strategies designed to reduce harmful consequences of addictive behaviors
4. Implementation of harm reduction treatment for patients with co-occurring disorders (mental health and substance abuse problems as a dual diagnosis)

Workshop Schedule (Addictive Behaviors) [PDF] »

Resource Page (Registered users only) »

G. Alan Marlatt, Ph.D. University of Washington Dr. Marlatt is Director of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center, Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington and an Adjunct Professor at the School of Public Health, University of Washington. His major focus in both research and clinical work is the field of addictive behaviors. In addition to over 200 journal articles and book chapters, he has published several books in the addictions field, including Relapse Prevention (1985; 2005), Assessment of Addictive Behaviors (1988; 2005), Harm Reduction (1998), and Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS): A Harm Reduction Approach (1999). Dr. Marlatt has received continuous funding for his research from a variety of agencies including the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Alcoholic Beverage Medical Research Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In 1990, Dr. Marlatt was awarded The Jellinek Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to knowledge in the field of alcohol studies, in 2001 he was given the Innovators in Combating Substance Abuse Award by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and in 2004 he received the Distinguished Researcher Award from the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Target audience:

Anyone working with addicive behaviors, e.g. prevention, information dissemination, harm reduction, treatment, and research. The workshop will also be of interest for researchers in public health, social medicine, sociology and health psychology.

Course approvals:

Evidence is approved as a non-profit continued education provider by the the Norwegian Psychological association (NPF), the Norwegian Medical Association (Dnlf), the Norwegian Nurses Council (NSF) and the joint association of social educators, child welfare specialists and social workers (FO).

The seminar is approved by the Norwegian Psychological Association the Norwegian Medical Association, Fellesorganisasjonen and Sykepleier forbundet. for free specialization or maintainance course credits. The main target group for this workshop is psychologists and MD's, however we welcome professionals interested in addictive behavior with other backgrounds.