Dr. Katie Witkiewitz, a psychology professor at the University of New Mexico, will speak on mindfulness-based treatments for addiction at 4 p.m. Tuesday, October 15 in 110 Henderson Building.

The talk, titled “Mindfulness-Based Interventions For Addition: Making a Better Band-Aid,” will focus on multiple facets of the addiction crisis, including relapse, treatment, and mindfulness as a solution to and prevention against relapse. Witkiewitz will share her findings on the relationship between mindfulness and relapse prevention treatment, as well as steps to implement this treatment.

Witkiewitz specializes in biopsychosocial influences on relapse and has written five books.

Her talk will be featured as the annual Bennett Lecture, hosted by the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center (PRC,) and will take place alongside a series of activities throughout the week with other experts in the field.

“As we celebrate the PRC’s 20th anniversary this week, we are grateful for the many important contributions that Edna Bennett Pierce has made to the PRC and the field of prevention science,” Stephanie Lanza, director of the PRC and interim director of the Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse, said in a release.

Witkiewitz, a licensed clinical psychologist, will also speak at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday, October 16 in the Memorial Lounge at Pasquerilla Spiritual Center. That talk is titled “Alcohol Harm Reduction is Health Promotion: A 15-year Journey Examining Patterns and Predictors of Alcohol Treatment Outcomes,” and it will be part of the Child Study Center speaker series.