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Fred Muench, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist who specializes in developing remote coaching and digital interventions to help individuals and families prevent and intervene in problem substance use. Fred was formerly the President and CEO of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. Before joining the organization, Fred focused on developing, researching and managing technology-based addiction applications and telehealth solutions for private, nonprofit and academic sectors. He has held faculty appointments at NYU, Columbia University Medical Center and the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and been on numerous advisory boards to promote telehealth practices. He has received funding to build and test digital interventions from NIDA, NIAAA and the Robert Wood Johnson Pioneer Portfolio, among others. Fred has worked in the technology and addiction fields for more than 20 years as a clinician and implementation scientist pushing the boundaries of bringing addiction treatment directly to individuals and families. Along with the team at the Partnership, his work is focused on delivering quality personalized empirically supported services that make it easy for individuals and families to get the help they need without barriers while using continuous quality improvement practices to iterate and build the next generation of support.
Research Topics: Digital behavioral health, telehealth, mobile messaging, addiction, alcohol reduction, recovery, caregiver interventions, user engagement and sustainability
Selected Publications
September 2019
Objective User Engagement With Mental Health Apps: Systematic Search and Panel-Based Usage Analysis
May 2018
Summary of Key Issues Raised in the Technology for Early Awareness of Addiction and Mental Illness (TEAAM-I) Meeting
February 2018
Comparing Daily Drivers of Problem Drinking Among Older and Younger Adults: An Electronic Daily Diary Study Using Smartphones
July 2017
Mobile Phone Messaging for Illicit Drug and Alcohol Dependence: A Systematic Review of the Literature
June 2017
A Pilot Study of Online Feedback for Adult Drinkers 50 and Older: Feasibility, Efficacy, and Preferences for Intervention
March 2017
Enlight: A Comprehensive Quality and Therapeutic Potential Evaluation Tool for Mobile and Web-Based eHealth Interventions
June 2017
Characteristics of Online Treatment Seekers Interested in a Text Messaging Intervention for Problem Drinking: Adults 51 and Older versus Middle-Aged and Younger Adults
February 2017
A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial of Different Mobile Messaging Interventions for Problem Drinking Compared to Weekly Drink Tracking
September 2016
Within-Person Associations between Daily Motivation and Self-Efficacy and Drinking Among Problem Drinkers in Treatment
June 2016
An Exploratory Pilot Study of Mechanisms of Action within Normative Feedback for Adult Drinkers
September 2015
The Independent Relationship Between Trouble Controlling Facebook Use, Time Spent on the Site and Distress
August 2015
Understanding Facebook Use and the Psychological Effects of Use Across Generations
December 2014
Profiles of Confidence and Commitment to Change as Predictors of Moderated Drinking: A Person-Centered Approach
January 2021
Engaging the family in the care of young adults with substance use disorders
January 2021
Psychosocial interventions for children with externalized behavior problems: An updated meta-analysis of moderator effects
January 2021
The Digital Marshmallow Test (DMT) diagnostic and monitoring mobile health app for impulsive behavior: development and validation study