Course Description

Read one research article, sharpen how you define and measure recovery in clinical practice, and earn 1 CE credit.
This course is built around a single 2025 study: "Prevalence, predictors, correlates, and dynamic changes in the NIAAA-defined recovery definition" by Kelly, Belisario, and MacKillop. The researchers followed 442 adults starting a new alcohol use disorder recovery attempt for a full year and tested NIAAA's new operational definition of recovery (remission plus no heavy drinking) against what actually happened to people over time.
The findings complicate a clean answer. Four outcome groups emerged: remission with abstinence, remission with low-risk drinking, remission with higher-risk drinking, and no remission. Roughly a third of participants met the NIAAA recovery definition at some point. But the two subgroups inside that definition looked very different at baseline, and they held onto remission at very different rates. You'll see exactly which factors predicted who got there and who stayed there, and how each group's quality of life, recovery capital, and well-being shifted across the year.
Built for psychologists and behavioral health professionals who assess and treat adults with AUD, this course asks you to read the full article, then complete a short assessment on the study design, key findings, and clinical implications. No lectures, no slides. Just the research, distilled into one credit hour you can apply directly to how you talk about recovery with your clients.
*There are no conflicts of interest to report.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify the purpose, design, and sample characteristics of Kelly et al.’s study on NIAAA-defined recovery from alcohol use disorder.

  • Describe the main findings on the prevalence, stability, predictors, and quality of life correlates of the four recovery outcome categories over 12 months.

  • Discuss key implications of these findings for how recovery from alcohol use disorder is defined, measured, and used to guide clinical decision-making.

Course Curriculum

1 Continuing Education Credit

  1. Course Introduction

  2. Module One: Lesson

  3. Module One: Assessment

  4. Course Conclusion

Course Highlights

  • 1 Continuing Education Credits
  • 1 Module Course & Assessment
  • $36.00 to $40.00

Instructor(s)

Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine John Francis Kelly, Ph.D.

Dr. Kelly is the Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School – the first endowed professor in addiction medicine at Harvard. He is also the Founder and Director of the Recovery Research Institute at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the National Center on Youth Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery at MGH. He also serves as the Chief of the Division of Addiction Treatment and Prevention across the Mass General Brigham (MGB) Academic Medical Centers (AMC) Department of Psychiatry (AMC Psychiatry). Dr. Kelly is a former President of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Society of Addiction Psychology, a founding member and inaugural President of the American Board of Addiction Psychology, a Fellow of the APA, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology. He has served as a consultant to U.S. federal agencies and non-federal institutions, as well as foreign governments, the United Nations, and the World Health Organization. Dr. Kelly has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, chapters, and books in the field of addiction medicine, and was an author on the U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health. He has won numerous state, national, and international lifetime achievements and distinguished scientist awards for his work. His clinical and research endeavors have focused on addiction treatment and the recovery process, mechanisms of behavior change, and reducing stigma and discrimination among individuals suffering from addiction.

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