Dr. Reid Hester is a psychologist and researcher.  He is the founder and director of the science division of CheckUp & Choices.  Reid’s extensive research in alcohol abuse has led to professional opportunities and collaborations with many experts in the field.  One long-standing partnership has been with SMART Recovery. 

In this podcast, Reid talks about:

• His educational background and path to earning a doctorate in psychology
• Meeting the “rising star” Dr. William Miller in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1978
• Finding a kindred spirit in Dr. Tom Horvath, a founding member of SMART Recovery
• Publishing findings from a drug and alcohol abstinence focused protocol, in conjunction with SMART, in the Journal of Medical Internet Research
• How the pandemic is affecting recovery
• The CheckUp & Choices approach and app
• Receiving funding for continued research through Small Business Innovative Research Grants
• Carpe diem is the term when looking for web-based applications to make changes
• Future innovators including Chess Health and Vorvida
• Reasons to be hopeful and optimistic in recovery
• The positive ripple effect

Additional resources:

• Published SMART research in the JMIR
• Changes in Adult Alcohol Use and Consequences During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US
• Follow CheckUp & Choices on Facebook
• National Institute of Health
• National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

• Apple iTunes
• Google Play
• Spotify
• iHeartRadio
• RadioPublic

Click here to find all of SMART Recovery’s podcasts