Dr. Epstein integrates her research and clinical interests by developing and testing cognitive behavioral therapies for substance abusers, through randomized clinical trials and treatment development research. She is also interested in the differing clinical presentations and treatment response of alcohol or drug dependent patients subtyped by various indicators of individual differences such as comorbid psychopathology. Dr. Epstein's other research interests include couples therapy for alcohol and drug use disorders, and issues specifically relevant to alcohol dependence in women. She is currently Acting Director, Program for Addictions Consultation and Treatment (PACT) which is a specialty clinic at the GSAPP training clinic, where she oversees assessment and treatment of substance abusers and their family members by GSAPP and Clinical Psychology doctoral candidates. The majority of her time is spent as Associate Research Professor at the Center of Alcohol Studies (CAS). She also holds a joint faculty appointment in the Addictions Division of the Department of Psychiatry, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Epstein is a licensed psychologist and has a part-time private practice where she primarily uses a CBT approach to treat individuals, couples, and families with a variety of problems including substance use, depression, and anxiety. Dr. Epstein was Principal Investigator (PI) of a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) grant entitled, Alcoholic Subtypes: A Multi site Study of Clinical Validity, was PI on a National Institute on Drug Abuse grant entitled, "Adapting Behavioral Marital Couples Therapy to Treat Drug Abuse, and has been co-PI on three NIAAA grants designed to test models of individual and couples cognitive behavioral therapy for male and female alcoholics. Dr. Epstein is co-author with Barbara McCrady of a published textbook entitled, "Addictions: A Comprehensive Guidebook." Dr. Epstein has published in the areas of alcohol subtyping, impact of comorbid depression and other psychiatric disorders on severity and treatment of substance abuse, classification of substance use disorders, marital therapy for substance abusing males and females, and aspects of female alcoholism. She regularly gives workshops to teach Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Substance Abuse, and also provides clinical supervision to several GSAPP students each year for their clinical practica and clinic patients, for CBT treatment of substance use, depressive, and/or anxiety disorders.

Instructor for the Following Courses:

• CBT Assessment and Treatment Planning
• Assessment and Treatment of Alcohol Use
• Disorders Lifespan Human Development

Email: bepstein@rci.rutgers.edu