Can Technology Reduce Substance Abuse?

PHONING IT IN –

March 31, 2022 – UCF clinical psychologist and Professor Lidia Meshesha works tirelessly to help improve the lives of people afflicted by addiction.

She knows from previous studies, that many people relapse after treatment.

“I have seen too many patients who struggle with addiction, and despite going to treatment and reporting that they don’t want to use alcohol or drugs anymore, they find themselves back in the same situation year after year,” Meshesha says. “I want to find ways that can help them escape this unwanted vicious cycle.”Meshesha was born in Ethiopia and moved to the U.S. as a child. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Williams College, a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Memphis. She completed a clinical psychology residency and postdoctoral fellowship at Brown University.

She has always been interested in clinical psychology and how people cope once they receive psychological treatment. However, she did not start with an interest in addiction. It was after college, she worked on a project with hospitalized patients with opioid dependence. The experience motivated her to focus on this population and improve treatment outcomes for those who need it most.