NIAAA Researchers Present at the National Association of Drug Court Professionals 4th Annual Juvenile and Family Drug Court Training Conference

When: January 8, 2003
Where: Washington, DC
Institute: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

NIAAA hosted a pre-conference workshop at the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) 4th Annual Juvenile and Family Drug Court Training Conference. During a session moderated by Raye Litten, Chief, NIAAA Treatment Research Branch, NIAAA researchers Robert Swift, M.D., Ph.D. and Darlene Moak, M.D. presented on medications utilized in treating alcoholism. An overarching concept behind this conference is to use the drug court model as a vehicle to bring collective resources of a community into the recovery process of each individual and their family.

In addition to moderating, Raye Litten also spoke about NIAAA and research the Institute is funding in this area. Dr. Swift provided information about how drugs and alcohol work in the brain, described the rationale for the use of medications in alcoholism treatment and presented evidence that medications combined with psychosocial therapies can improve treatment outcomes. Dr. Moak focused on the pharmacological treatment of comorbidity—the prevalence, consequences, mechanisms, evaluation and treatment of comorbidity.

NADCP's Annual Juvenile and Family Drug Court Training Conference is attended by judges, prosecutors, treatment providers, law enforcement and child/family services professionals.

Next steps:
For more information about the conference visit www.nadcp.org/events/ or contact Amy Matush, NIAAA Outreach Specialist at amatush@mail.nih.gov or (301) 443-0469.

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