Doug Polcin, Ed.D.

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Douglas L. Polcin, Ed.D.

Background Information and Areas of Research

Douglas L. Polcin is a scientist at ARG and an adjunct faculty member of the John F. Kennedy University's department of counseling psychology. He has also worked as an instructor for the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Studies program of the University of California's Berkeley Extension.

Currently, Polcin is serving as principal investigator of two studies: 1) a study funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) called An Evaluation of Sober Living Houses and 2) Measuring Confrontation during Recovery, which is funded by the National Institute on Drag Abuse (NIDA). He is also testing a Higher Dose Motivational Enhancement Therapy Manual for the treatment of methamphetamine dependence.

Polcin's research and teaching interests include peer helping, motivational enhancement therapy, criminal justice mandated treatment, the roles of coercion and confrontation in treatment outcome, bridging treatment and research, and spirituality.

Before joining ARG, Polcin was a research psychologist at San Francisco's Haight Ashbury Free Clinics, where he served as principal investigator of the NIAAA grant Coercion to enter Treatment from Probation Officers. He also served as co-investigator of Helping Behaviors as an Expression of Spirituality and co-investigator of Methamphetamine Dependence and the Risk of HIV Infection. Since 1979 he has worked as a clinician, supervisor, and administrator in a variety of substance abuse and mental health treatment programs.

Polcin completed a doctorate in counseling psychology at Boston's Northeastern University and a master's in clinical psychology at San Francisco State University. His peer review activities include serving on editorial boards for the Journal of Addiction and Offender Counseling and the Journal of Counseling and Development. He is a temporary member of the National Institute of Health review group Behavioral and Social Science Approaches to Preventing HIV/AIDS.

Selected Publications

Polcin, D.L. (1995). Clinical perceptions about dual diagnosis clients in psychiatric day treatment. Continuum: Developments in Ambulatory Mental Health Care, 2(4), 291-308.

Polcin, D.L. & Weisner, C. (1999). Factors associated with coercion in entering treatment for alcohol problems. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 54, 63-68.

Polcin, D.L. (2001a). Sober living houses: Potential roles in substance abuse services and suggestions for research. Substance Use and Misuse, 36(2), 301-311.

Polcin, D.L. (2001b). Drug and alcohol offenders coerced into treatment: A review of modalities and suggestions for research on social model programs. Substance Use and Misuse, 36(5), 589-608.

Polcin, D.L. (2003). Rethinking confrontation in alcohol and drug treatment: Consideration of the clinical context. Substance Use and Misuse, 38, 165-184.

Polcin, D.L. (2004). Bridging Psychosocial Research and Treatment in Community Substance Abuse Programs. Addiction Research and Theory. 12(3), 275-284.

Polcin, D.L., Galloway, G.P., Palmer, J. & Mains, W. (2004). The case for high-dose Motivational Enhancement Therapy. Substance Use and Misuse, 39(2), 331-343 .

Polcin, D.L., Galloway, G.P. & Greenfield, T.K. (in press). Measuring Confrontation during Recovery from Addiction. Substance Use and Misuse.

Polcin, D.L. & Greenfield, T.K. (2003). Factors associated with probation officers’ use of criminal justice coercion to mandate alcohol treatment. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 29(3), 647-670.

Polcin, D.L. & Zemore, S. (2004). Psychiatric severity and spirituality, helping and participation in alcoholics anonymous during recovery. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 30(3), 577-592.

Other ARG Publications of This Author

Grants Information

An Evaluation of Living Sober Housing, R01 014030

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Last updating of page: July 11, 2005