Paul Christiansen

Paul Christiansen
Paul is a Lecturer at the University of Liverpool. His broad research interests focus on automatic and controlled cognitive processes in addiction. He is particularly interested in self control and how the perception of being in certain states can influence someone’s ability to regulate their behaviour. He also works in Forensic Psychology, analysing the impact of interrogation techniques on interview yield. He has recently started tweeting about his work and other work in addiction (and beyond) (@ChristiansenLiv).

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Have the EAGLES landed? Safety of varenicline, bupropion and NRT in smokers with and without mental illnesses

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Paul Christiansen presents the results of the EAGLES RCT into the neuropsychiatric safety and efficacy of varenicline, bupropion, and nicotine patches in smokers with and without psychiatric disorders.

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Nicotine patches, Varenicline and combination NRT: as good/bad as each other?

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Paul Christiansen considers the findings of a recent RCT, which evaluates the effects of nicotine patches versus varenicline versus combination nicotine replacement therapy on smoking cessation at 26 weeks.

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Can MDMA and compassionate imagery therapy help increase self-compassion?

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Paul Christiansen reports on a small naturalistic experimental study of MDMA (Ecstasy) and compassionate imagery therapy to increase self-compassion and reduce self-criticism. He concludes that existing UK drug laws make this a challenging environment in which to create an evidence base.

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Varenicline supports smoking reduction and smoking cessation, according to RCT

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Paul Christiansen highlights an RCT of varenicline on smoking cessation through smoking reduction, which suggests that varenicline may be an effective treatment for smokers who wish to gradually reduce their cigarette consumption.

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Alcohol misuse and PTSD comorbidity: a significant problem lacking solutions

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Current NICE guidelines state that PTSD should not be dealt with unless alcohol dependence is first treated. Paul Christiansen summarises a systematic review of the comorbidity between PTSD and alcohol misuse and wonders where the guidance leaves patients and professionals.

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Can mobile apps help recovering alcoholics?

Paul Christiansen reports on a recent RCT that investigates how a mobile app can provide support for recovering alcoholics who are leaving residential treatment.

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US policy on prescription drug abuse: tackling an unique and significant problem

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The fact that drug overdoses are the second largest cause of premature death from unintentional injuries in the US (for example, in 2010 there was 38,329 drug overdose deaths) is not a surprising statistic. What may surprise readers is that of these deaths 22,134 were attributed to prescription drugs. Indeed, almost one and a half [read the full story…]

Illicit drug use: personality and poverty

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A considerable amount of research has attempted to shed light on the key antecedents of drug use. The role of personality traits, in particular, has been explored in great detail; indeed the idea of “the addictive personality” has often been discussed. Although we elves feel that the addictive personality is a simplification of a much [read the full story…]

Quitting smoking is the easy part, staying quit is hard

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During 2010/11 there were 1.53 million hospital admissions for illnesses directly attributable to smoking in the UK. These admissions, along with other smoking-related expenses, cost the NHS approximately £5 billion pounds per year. Fortunately, the NHS is spending £88.2 million per year on cessation treatments, many of which have been repeatedly demonstrated to be highly [read the full story…]

Primary care interventions for alcohol misuse: US Preventative Services Task Force recommendations

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Alcohol misuse is recognised as one of the major health care issues in the US. Specifically, alcohol misuse is ranked third in causes of preventable deaths (after tobacco and obesity) affecting 30% of the population. Alcohol dependence has 4% prevalence in the US, but hazardous drinking patterns are believed to be evident in 21% of [read the full story…]