John Mckellar

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Medical Professional at Bay Area Pain and Wellness Center

Objective: This paper assesses the effects of training in and implementation of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP) in the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system on therapists' CBT-CP competencies and patients' pain-related outcomes. Methods: A total of 71 therapists participated in the VA CBT-CP Training Pr...

Little is known about detoxification (detox) history as a risk factor for poor treatment outcomes among dually diagnosed (substance use and other mental health disorders) patients. We compared patients with a detox history with those who had never received detox on baseline characteristics, subsequent treatment and mutual-help group participation,...

Within the last 30 years, a substantial number of interventions for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) have received empirical support. Nevertheless, fewer than 25% of individuals with alcohol-related problems access these interventions. If several intensive psychosocial treatments are relatively effective, but most individuals in need do not access them...

Many patients treated for substance use disorder (SUD) do not achieve lasting recovery from a single episode of treatment and require continuing care. The current randomized clinical trial investigated whether in-person continuing care as usual (CCAU) following intensive outpatient SUD treatment leads to better SUD outcomes when compared with telep...

Hazardous drinking is a major barrier to antiviral treatment eligibility among hepatitis C (HCV) patients. We evaluated differences in substance-related coping, drinking-related consequences, and importance and confidence in ability to change alcohol use among hazardous drinkers with and without HCV (N = 554; 93.5% male). We examined group differen...

We examined change in family support and depressive symptoms over the course of 23 years and included the potential moderators of gender and participation in treatment. A sample of 373 depressed individuals provided data in five waves, with baseline, 1-year, 4-year, 10-year, and 23-year follow-ups. Multilevel modeling was used to evaluate longitudi...

IntroductionThe Course of Addictive DisordersScreening and Initial Referral of PatientsDescriptions of Psychosocial Treatments for SudSelf-Help for Substance Use DisorderRole of Referring Physician During Self-Help and/or Professional Sud TreatmentContinuing CareManaging Treatment-Resistant PatientsConclusions AcknowledgmentReferences

The present study examined the role of ambivalence about change as (1) a predictor of subsequent heavy alcohol use and drinking problems and (2) a mediator of change between entering treatment and heavy alcohol use and drinking problems among individuals self-referring for treatment with an alcohol use disorder. A sample of 439 individuals (49.9% f...

This observational study examined the association between continuing outpatient care for a psychiatric disorder, a substance use disorder, or both and decreased risk of readmission to psychiatric care after an index episode of inpatient psychiatric treatment. Treatment records from all patients with co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disord...

Self-efficacy is a robust predictor of short- and long-term remission after treatment. This study examined the predictors of self-efficacy in the year after treatment and 15 years later. A sample of 420 individuals with alcohol use disorders was assessed five times over the course of 16 years. Predictors of self-efficacy at 1 year included improvem...

This study identified which aspects of substance abuse treatment in community residential facilities (CRFs) were correlated with patients' post-treatment coping. A total of 2376 patients supplied demographic information and completed measures at baseline (coping and abstinence self-efficacy) and one year after treatment (coping, level of drug and a...

To understand better the relationship between substance-use disorder treatment and abstinence self-efficacy, more information is needed about what factors predict greater abstinence self-efficacy. Participants (n = 2,350) from 88 community residential facilities were assessed at treatment entry and 1-year follow-up. Treatment providers reported on...

Although motivational readiness to change predicts alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment outcomes, little is known about treatment aspects that are helpful for patients with low motivation. We examined whether a positive therapeutic alliance is particularly beneficial for patients entering AUD treatment with low motivation. Among Project MATCH outpa...

The aim of this study was to use pretreatment and treatment factors to predict dropout from residential substance use disorder program and to examine how the treatment environment modifies the risk for dropout. This study assessed 3649 male patients at entry to residential substance use disorder treatment and obtained information about their percep...

To better understand the relationship between abstinence self-efficacy and treatment outcomes in substance use disorder patients, experts in the field need more information about the levels of abstinence self-efficacy most predictive of treatment outcomes. Participants (N = 2,967) from 15 residential substance use disorder treatment programs were a...

A positive corelation between Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) involvement and better alcohol-related outcomes has been identified in research studies, but whether this correlation reflects a causal relationship remains a subject of meaningful debate. The present study evaluated the question of whether AA affiliation appears causally related to positive a...