Helpline
Call 1.855.378.4373 to schedule a call time with a specialist or visit scheduler.drugfree.org
Helpline
Helpline
Call 1.855.378.4373 to schedule a call time with a specialist

Fred Muench, Ph.D.

President

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

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May 2018

Summary of Key Issues Raised in the Technology for Early Awareness of Addiction and Mental Illness (TEAAM-I) Meeting

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February 2018

Comparing Daily Drivers of Problem Drinking Among Older and Younger Adults: An Electronic Daily Diary Study Using Smartphones

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July 2017

Mobile Phone Messaging for Illicit Drug and Alcohol Dependence: A Systematic Review of the Literature

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June 2017

A Pilot Study of Online Feedback for Adult Drinkers 50 and Older: Feasibility, Efficacy, and Preferences for Intervention

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March 2017

Enlight: A Comprehensive Quality and Therapeutic Potential Evaluation Tool for Mobile and Web-Based eHealth Interventions

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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

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February 2017

A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial of Different Mobile Messaging Interventions for Problem Drinking Compared to Weekly Drink Tracking

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September 2016

Within-Person Associations between Daily Motivation and Self-Efficacy and Drinking Among Problem Drinkers in Treatment

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June 2016

An Exploratory Pilot Study of Mechanisms of Action within Normative Feedback for Adult Drinkers

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September 2015

The Independent Relationship Between Trouble Controlling Facebook Use, Time Spent on the Site and Distress

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August 2015

Understanding Facebook Use and the Psychological Effects of Use Across Generations

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December 2014

Profiles of Confidence and Commitment to Change as Predictors of Moderated Drinking: A Person-Centered Approach

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January 2021

Engaging the family in the care of young adults with substance use disorders

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January 2021

Psychosocial interventions for children with externalized behavior problems: An updated meta-analysis of moderator effects

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January 2021

The Digital Marshmallow Test (DMT) diagnostic and monitoring mobile health app for impulsive behavior: development and validation study

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