Principal Investigator: William R. Miller, Ph.D.
Funding Agency: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP)
UNM was awarded the only NIAAA/CSAP Faculty Development Program within the discipline of
Psychology. The Faculty Development Programs (FDP) were designed to enhance substance abuse
education in mainstream professional training programs by attracting and educating core faculty to teach
about addictions. Five psychology faculty at the University of New Mexico participated in the
Addiction Psychology FDP, none of whom had had a primary focus or expertise in substance use
disorders. All four of the Assistant Professors became career addiction scientists. During the 5 years
prior to FDP, the percentage of fellows' publications that were focused on addictions rose from 11%
(not significantly different from other psychology faculty) to 43%, and then to 70% in the 5 years after
FDP. Addiction courses offered in Psychology during successive 5-year periods rose from 5 (before)
to 11 (during FDP) to 22 (after FDP). Graduate theses and dissertations focused on addictions topics
increased from 1.1 per year (before) to 3.4 (during FDP) and 3.5 per year after FDP. In the 5 years
after FDP, 13 different Psychology faculty chaired 46 theses and dissertations focused on addictions
(Miller & Anderson, in press).
We also surveyed Ph.D. graduates of the department, comparing those trained before and after
implementation of the FDP. There were significant increases in accurate knowledge about (Miller &
C'de Baca, 1995), willingness and confidence to treat (rather than refer) addictions, and a doubling of
the reported percentage of addictive disorders in their post-degree caseloads. There are 11 new
"second generation" research faculty in Psychology who were trained by FDP faculty, working full-time
in addiction research, six of whom have already been awarded extramural funding. FDP seems to be a
promising model for institutionalizing addiction research and training in a graduate degree program.
References:
Funding Agency: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP)
UNM was awarded the only NIAAA/CSAP Faculty Development Program within the discipline of
Psychology. The Faculty Development Programs (FDP) were designed to enhance substance abuse
education in mainstream professional training programs by attracting and educating core faculty to teach
about addictions. Five psychology faculty at the University of New Mexico participated in the
Addiction Psychology FDP, none of whom had had a primary focus or expertise in substance use
disorders. All four of the Assistant Professors became career addiction scientists. During the 5 years
prior to FDP, the percentage of fellows' publications that were focused on addictions rose from 11%
(not significantly different from other psychology faculty) to 43%, and then to 70% in the 5 years after
FDP. Addiction courses offered in Psychology during successive 5-year periods rose from 5 (before)
to 11 (during FDP) to 22 (after FDP). Graduate theses and dissertations focused on addictions topics
increased from 1.1 per year (before) to 3.4 (during FDP) and 3.5 per year after FDP. In the 5 years
after FDP, 13 different Psychology faculty chaired 46 theses and dissertations focused on addictions
(Miller & Anderson, in press).
We also surveyed Ph.D. graduates of the department, comparing those trained before and after
implementation of the FDP. There were significant increases in accurate knowledge about (Miller &
C'de Baca, 1995), willingness and confidence to treat (rather than refer) addictions, and a doubling of
the reported percentage of addictive disorders in their post-degree caseloads. There are 11 new
"second generation" research faculty in Psychology who were trained by FDP faculty, working full-time
in addiction research, six of whom have already been awarded extramural funding. FDP seems to be a
promising model for institutionalizing addiction research and training in a graduate degree program.
References:
- Miller, W. R., & Anderson, R. E. (in press). Impact of a faculty development program in addiction psychology. Journal of Teaching in the Addictions, 2(2), 2004.
- Miller, W. R., & C'de Baca, J. (1995). What every mental health professional should know about alcohol. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 12, 355-365.
