Addiction Related Content

Everything You Need To Know About Addiction

Addiction is not a sign of weakness, a character flaw, or a moral failure. It is a common condition that affects millions of people of all ages, backgrounds, and socioeconomic groups. And while there is no one cause of addiction, there is hope—it can be treated effectively. Keep Reading To Learn The...

Everything You Need To Know About Substance Use Detox

Addiction is one of the biggest challenges facing society today. Countless people are turning to substances, including prescription medications and alcohol, to cope with stress, trauma, and symptoms of common disorders, such as depression . There is massive stigma around addiction, whether someone...

Everything You Need To Know About Teen Use of Drugs & Alcohol

Growing up can be difficult. Oftentimes, adolescents are curious, stressed, emotional, and looking for ways to escape boredom. Adolescents are also more likely to experiment with substances due to the way the brain develops. Sometimes, when given the opportunity, they’ll find an escape through drugs...

Just How Does Drinking Affect the Teenage Brain?

Studies at McLean Hospital and elsewhere have shown that alcohol affects the brains of adolescents in profound and dangerous ways. During the teenage and early adult years, the brain is still developing, making it more vulnerable to alcohol than the adult brain. Moreover, research indicates that the...

Staff Profile: Roger D. Weiss, MD

Dr. Weiss’ career has focused on treatment and clinical research with substance-dependent patients. He has received numerous NIH grants, including for developing integrated group therapy, an evidence-based treatment for co-occurring bipolar and substance use disorders, and leading a multi-site...

Staff Profile: Shelly F. Greenfield, MD, MPH

Shelly F. Greenfield, MD, MPH, is an addiction psychiatrist, clinician, and researcher. She serves as principal and co-investigator on federally funded research focusing on substance use disorders treatment, gender differences, and substance health services. She received a National Institute on Drug...

Staff Profile: Staci Gruber, PhD

Staci Gruber, PhD, is the director of the Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Core and the Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery (MIND) program at McLean Hospital. She is an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on the application of...

Staff Profile: Hilary S. Connery, MD, PhD

Hilary S. Connery, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and serves as the clinical director for McLean Hospital’s Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction. Dr. Connery’s expertise includes treatment of opioid use disorders and integrated treatments for co...

Staff Profile: Miles Cunningham, MD, PhD

Miles G. Cunningham, MD, PhD, earned a PhD in 1993 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, specializing in “Transplantation Strategies for the Analysis of Brain Development and Repair.” He earned an MD in 1995 from Harvard Medical School, with a special interest in neuropsychiatry and behavioral...

Staff Profile: Marc L. Copersino, PhD, ABPP-CP

Marc L. Copersino, PhD, ABPP-CP, is affiliated with the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction and works collaboratively with members of the McLean Imaging Center. He conducts patient-oriented research focusing on the clinical neuroscience and treatment of substance use disorders (SUD) in two...

Staff Profile: Anna W. Sromek, PhD

Anna W. Sromek, PhD, received her BS in chemistry at the University of Chicago in 1996, and PhD in organic chemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2005. She was a NIDA post-doctoral research fellow at McLean Hospital from 2008 to 2010, and a recipient of the Alfred Pope Award for Young...

Staff Profile: Zhicheng (Carl) Lin, PhD

Dr. Lin is currently a grantee of both NIH and Fulbright, with a long-term interest in reducing the prevalence of substance abuse around the world. Dr. Lin’s research focuses on delineation of environmentally related genomic risks for substance abuse, through mapping out molecular pathways that...

Staff Profile: James I. Hudson, MD, ScD, SM

James I. Hudson, MD, ScD, SM, received his MD from Tufts University Medical School of Medicine and his ScD and SM degrees from Harvard School of Public Health. Joining McLean Hospital in 1980, he is currently a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Biological...

Staff Profile: Bertha K. Madras, PhD

Bertha K. Madras, PhD, is a professor of psychobiology at Harvard Medical School, based at McLean Hospital and cross appointed at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Her research focuses on neurobiology, imaging, and medications development (19 U.S. and 27 international patents) for neuropsychiatric...

Staff Profile: Jennifer T. Sneider, PhD

Jennifer T. Sneider, PhD, focuses her research on the role of the hippocampus, with a particular interest in characterizing sex differences and the role of the menstrual cycle on hippocampal-based memory function. She has received funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to apply magnetic...

Staff Profile: Julia E. Cohen-Gilbert, PhD

Julia E. Cohen-Gilbert, PhD, employs cognitive and behavioral measures in conjunction with magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy to investigate the role of brain development in cognitive and emotional regulation during adolescence. She is particularly interested in dynamic...

Staff Profile: Jessica E. Feinberg, LICSW

Jessica Feinberg, LICSW, came to McLean after completing a clinical fellowship at the Yale Child Study Center. She has worked as a therapist and clinical social worker in the Adolescent Acute Residential Treatment (ART) Program since 2002. Ms. Feinberg is trained in dialectical behavior therapy and...

Staff Profile: Ruth Reibstein, EdD

Ruth Reibstein, EdD, is a staff psychologist for the Alcohol, Drug, and Addiction Partial Hospital Program at McLean Hospital. She is also an instructor in psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Reibstein’s primary interests include integrated treatment for...

Staff Profile: R. Kathryn McHugh, PhD

R. Kathryn McHugh, PhD, engages in clinical and translational research focusing on the nature and treatment of anxiety and addiction. She is particularly interested in the study of affective vulnerability factors, such as distress intolerance and stress reactivity, that are common across...

Staff Profile: Dawn E. Sugarman, PhD

Dawn E. Sugarman, PhD, is a research psychologist in the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction at McLean Hospital. Dr. Sugarman focuses her research and clinical work on the treatment of addictive behaviors. She is particularly interested in gender-specific treatment for substance use disorders...