Adolescent SBIRT

Description: Substance use among youth people in the US is still common and of great health significance. Whereas the 1970’s was marked by large gaps in knowledge about what contributes to the onset and course of drug use in teenagers and how to best measure and treat its signs and symptoms, the past 25 years have been characterized by a rapid growth of research in the development of evidence-based prevention and treatment approaches to address adolescent substance use.

Presenter: Ken C. Winters, Ph.D. is a Senior Scientist at the Oregon Research Institute and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota.  Dr. Winters retired as a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota, where he founded and directed the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research for 25 years. Dr. Winters received his B.A. from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in Psychology (Clinical) from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.  His primary research interests are the assessment and treatment of addictions, including adolescent drug abuse and problem gambling. His recent work in the field has focused on brief interventions and the SBIRT model to address adolescents who are mild-to-moderate drug users and have co-existing behavioral problems. Along with Keven Sabet, he has co-edited Contemporary Health Issues on Marijuana, published in 2018 by Oxford University Press.  He is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse, and the Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.  Dr. Winters received numerous research grants from the National Institute of Health and various foundations and published over 125 peer-reviewed articles over a 30-year period. He was the 2008 recipient of the Research to Evidence-Based Practice Award from a national organization on effective treatment for adolescents (JMATE), and received in 2005 the Senior Investigator Award by the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG). Dr. Winters is a frequent speaker and trainer, and a consultant to many organizations, including Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, NCRG, NORC’s Adolescent SBIRT Steering Committee, Institute for Behavior and Health, Inc., Florida International University’s Office of Research and Economic Development, Smart Approaches to Marijuana- MN Affiliate, and the Mentor Foundation (an international drug abuse prevention organization).