On Friday, January 17th, Dr. Cassandra (Cassie) Boness visited the OU Psychology Department to speak about her research and joined the TEA Lab and the Institute to Advance Health Equity to discuss joint topics of interest. We had a fantastic time talking about harm reduction, alcohol use problems, gambling, and community engaged research practices. In fact, so good that we forgot to take a picture together! Nevertheless, we thank Dr. Boness for traveling to us and sharing her experience and wisdom and look forward to continuing to collaborate with her!
The TEA Lab is currently working with Dr. Boness, along with other collaborators, on a project to better understand providers' use and perceptions of harm reduction for substance use and behavioral addictions.
Dr. Boness is a licensed cli nical psychologist and Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico’s Center on Alcohol, Substance use, And Addictions (CASAA) and in the Department of Psychology. Her federally funded research advances our understanding of addiction by clarifying what addiction is and how it manifests across individuals to improve diagnosis and classification as well as improve treatment for all people, particularly those with marginalized identities. To this end, she strives to include the diverse voices of people whose experiences with addiction have been overlooked in current conceptualizations of what addiction is and how it is assessed. She engages qualitative and quantitative methods, draws from principles of health equity and cultural humility, and works closely alongside individuals w ith lived experience with substance use and addiction to address three broad domains of research: (1) identifying the etiologic factors that cause and maintain addiction across individuals, (2) developing evidence-based assessments of these etiologic factors and related problems, and (3) promoting the advancement of precision medicine in addiction treatment. She strongly values clinical work, teaching, and service and strives to use her privilege to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in all aspects of professional and personal life.