PhD Investigator Clinical Psychiatry, Mass General Research Institute

Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry in the Field of Addiction Medicine Harvard Medical School

Psychologist Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital

PhD UC San Diego 2001

addiction; addiction recovery; alcohol and other drug use disorders; behavior addictive; group processes; residential treatment; self-help groups; substance-related disorders Dr. John F. Kelly is the Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry in the Field of Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School – the first endowed professor in addiction medicine at Harvard. He is the founder and Director of the Recovery Research Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Associate Director of the Center for Addiction Medicine at MGH

Dr. Kelly is a past President of the American Psychological Association (APA) Society of Addiction Psychology, is a Fellow of the APA, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). He has served as a consultant to U.S. federal agencies such as the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the national Institutes of Health (NIH); to national non-Federal treatment institutions, such as the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and Caron Foundation; and to foreign governments, the World Health Organiation (WHO) and United Nations (UN). Dr. Kelly has won numerous state, national, and international distinguished scientist and lifetime achievement awards for his work. 

He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, and chapters in the field of addiction science and is currently an Associate Editor for several academic journals in the addiction field. He works with Psychology Today as a monthly contributor.

His clinical and research work has focused on the addiction treatment and recovery process, which has included research on:

• The translation and implementation of evidence-based practices
• Reducing stigma associated with addiction
• Addiction and criminal justice
• Addiction treatment theories and mechanisms of behavior change

He is a licensed clinical psychologist actively working with individuals and families with alcohol and other drug use disorders and is a Patient’s Choice award recipient for 2016.