About the Authors

Michael J. Taleff, PhD, CSAC, MAC, is the Alcohol and Drug Education Program Coordinator at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Dr. Taleff has worked in the alcohol and other drug field for over 25 years, with experience as therapist, clinical director, an assistant professor, consultant, and researcher. Dr. Taleff received his PhD in Counselor Education from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a certified substance abuse counselor and a certified Master's Addictions Counselor. He is the editor of the Journal of Teaching in the Addictions. He has published several articles that address addictions studies education problems, treatment issues, and the need by addiction counselors to understand research. He wrote a book on resistance in chemical dependency counseling titled A Handbook to Assess and Treat Resistance in Chemical Dependency. He served on the editorial board of The Journal of Counseling and Development, and is on the editorial board of The Counselor and the Journal of Offenders and Addiction Counseling. He is the past-president of the International Coalition of Addiction Studies Educators, and serves as a member of its Curriculum Committee. He is a member of the Curriculum Training and Research Committees for The National Association of Drug Abuse Counselors. Dr. Taleff serves on the National Steering Committee to establish a national practice standard manual for drug and alcohol counselors.

Mim Landry is the Director of Medical and Science Communication at Danya International. As a senior-level medical writer with 20 years of experience in behavioral health, Mr. Landry's qualifications include clinical experience, behavioral science research analysis, and health communication and education. His areas of expertise are addiction treatment, substance abuse prevention, mental health treatment, and the drugs of abuse. He has written 20 books, curricula, and monographs, including his book Understanding Drugs of Abuse: The Processes of Addiction, Treatment, and Recovery. He has written 25 journal articles, 25 book or monograph chapters, and is a co-author of Living in Balance: A Comprehensive Substance Abuse Treatment and Relapse Prevention Manual. Mr. Landry has written or co-authored several online courses. These include Hepatitis C: A Guide for Counselors and Outreach Professionals, Child Welfare for Addiction Professionals, Welfare Reform for Addiction Professionals, and Conducting Substance-Related Screenings and Brief Motivational Enhancement Interventions. A member of the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse, the American Public Health Association, and the American Medical Writers Association, Mr. Landry is the former director of training and education at the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinics in San Francisco.