A smartphone app for reducing alcohol use with Joshua Garfield

In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim speaks to Dr Joshua Garfield, a research fellow at Monash University and Turning Point, Australia. The interview covers Joshua’s research article on the efficacy of a personalised alcohol ‘approach bias modification’ smartphone app in people accessing outpatient treatment for alcohol use disorders.

• What is ‘approach bias modification’ [01:51]
• The smartphone app and how it works [04:30]
• The recruitment process of the randomised controlled trial [07:20]
• The key findings of the study [09:20]
• How did the participants of the study feel about using the app? [10:37]
• The implications of the study for practice [12:33]
• The next steps for this app and using the app in different populations [13:54]

About Tsen Vei Lim: Tsen Vei is an academic fellow supported by the Society for the Study of Addiction, currently based at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. His research integrates computational modelling, experimental psychology, and neuroimaging to understand the neuropsychological basis of addictive behaviours. He holds a PhD in Psychiatry from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Bath (UK).

About Joshua Garfield: Joshua completed a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Psychology at the University of Tasmania in 2002, and then a PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of New South Wales in 2008, where he studied animal learning theory. Following a brief post-PhD role in depression research, he moved to Melbourne to work for Monash University at Turning Point, an addiction treatment, research, and workforce training institute. Since 2015, he has managed Turning Point’s cognitive bias modification research program, led by Professor Victoria Manning.

Original article: Efficacy of a personalised alcohol approach bias modification smartphone app in people accessing outpatient alcohol use disorder treatment: A randomised controlled trial https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70184

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