Floor Plan

Dr. Liese is Professor of Family Medicine and Psychiatry and Courtesy Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Kansas. He has co-authored treatment manuals with Dr. Aaron T. Beck and others, used in multi-center randomized clinical trials (RCTs). He is nationally known as one of the leading Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) trainer.

In addition to teaching, practice, and research activities, Dr. Liese enjoys participating in professional organization activities. He is thee Membership Chair of American Psychological Association’s Division 50 (Addictions) and Director of Communication and Publications for the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Research (SEPI).

He is currently conducting various research projects. As just one example, he is studying the impact of physicians providing counseling to binge eaters, using a standardized instrument for measuring observed empathy and also evaluating the effects of physician and patient attachment styles. His interest in binge eating follows years of studying addictions. Over the past ten years, Dr. Liese has widened his focus from chemical addictions (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, nicotine, alcohol, etc.) to all addictive behaviors (e.g, gambling, Internet, shopping, binge eating, etc.).

As a clinician, he treats depression, anxiety, addictive behaviors, personality disorders, marital problems, childhood behavioral problems, and more. As a Fellow of APA Divisions 29 and 50, he is comfortable working with people with all types of problems (including addictions). Dr. Liese is also board certified as a Family Psychologist.

Dr. Jon Grant is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Chicago and directs the Addictive, Compulsive and Impulsive Disorders (ACID) research/clinical group for at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Dr. Grant completed an undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan, a master’s degree at the University of Chicago, a law degree from Cornell University, a medical degree from Brown University, and a masters degree in public health from Harvard University. Dr. Grant is a board-certified psychiatrist.

Dr. Grant has written over 300 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on the phenomenology and pharmacological management of substance use disorders and impulse control disorders, particularly gambling disorder, kleptomania, and grooming disorders. He is the author of Stop Me Because I Can’t Stop Myself, a book on impulse control disorders published by McGraw-Hill (2002) (co-authored with Dr. Suck Won Kim), and is the co-editor (along with Marc Potenza) of two books published by the American Psychiatric Association: Pathological Gambling: A Clinical Guide to Treatment (2004) and A Textbook of Men’s Mental Health. He also lead-authored a book on the treatment of impulse control disorders using evidence-based cognitive behavior therapy (with Brian Odlaug and Chris Donahue). Dr. Grant’s research is funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health and the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG). He was honored twice with the NCRG Scientific Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions to the field of gambling disorder.

Lisa M. Najavits, PhD, is professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and a clinical research psychologist in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Her major clinical and research interests are substance abuse, trauma, comorbidity, behavioral addictions, veterans’ mental health, community-based care, development of new psychotherapies, and outcome research. She is author of over 175 professional publications, as well as the books Seeking Safety: A Treatment Manual for PTSD and Substance Abuse; A Woman’s Addiction Workbook; and the upcoming Creating Change: A Past-Focused Treatment Manual for Trauma and Addiction. She has served as president of the Society of Addiction Psychology of the American Psychological Association; and is on various advisory boards including the Journal of Traumatic Stress; the Journal of Gambling Studies; and Addiction Research and Theory. She has received various awards, including the 1997 Young Professional Award of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies; the 1998 Early Career Contribution Award of the Society for Psychotherapy Research; the 2004 Emerging Leadership Award of the American Psychological Association Committee on Women; and the 2009 Betty Ford Award of the Addiction Medical Education and Research Association. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association; board certified in behavioral therapy; a licensed psychologist in Massachusetts; and conducts a psychotherapy practice. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from Vanderbilt University and her bachelor’s degree with honors from Barnard College of Columbia University.

Nathan Smith joined the NCRG staff in 2010. As program officer of the NCRG, he coordinates the review of grant applications submitted to NCRG; prepares analytical reports for staff, Scientific Advisory Board and NCRG Board of Directors on research issues and grant-making patterns; prepares regular reports on NCRG grantees’ publications; conducts critical review of scientific papers for internal purposes; conducts regular review of new scientific literature on gambling and gambling disorder; and coordinates the annual poster session at
the NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction.

Smith is the author of several NCRG publications, including the white paper, From Pathological Gambling to Gambling Disorder: Changes in the DSM-5, and is co-author of “Statelevel Social Capital and Suicide Mortality in the 50 US States,” with Ichiro Kawachi, in Social Science and Medicine (2014), volume 120. Smith has served on review and advisory committees for government research projects in
Massachusetts and Nova Scotia, as well as journals such as Social Science and Medicine – Population Health. He received his ALM with a concentration in psychology from Harvard University.