This year's annual global meeting of the International Network on Brief Intervention for Alcohol or Other Drugs, or INEBRIA, will be held at the UCSF Nancy Friend Pritzker Psychiatry Building in San Francisco.
When someone’s alcohol or drug use is causing problems in their life, a brief intervention based on motivational interviewing — a non-judgmental listening and conversational technique — can be extremely helpful.
There is a scientific society devoted to researching the best ways to use brief intervention and how well it works in different settings — from health care to schools to worksites to the justice system — and with different types of patients. That group, the International Network on Brief Intervention for Alcohol or Other Drugs, or INEBRIA, will hold its annual meeting at the UCSF Nancy Friend Pritzker Psychiatry Building in San Francisco on September 24-26, 2025. More than 100 researchers from around the world are expected to attend.
Highlights of the conference include:
- A keynote lecture by William Miller, PhD, the co-developer of the motivational interviewing technique, who studies the treatment and prevention of addictions and psychology of change. Miller is a professor emeritus of psychology and psychiatry at the University of New Mexico, and affiliated with its Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions.
- A pre-conference educational day on digital interventions in substance use intervention and treatment. This is largely focused on telehealth and other remote treatment options between mental health practitioners and patients.
- Two days of panels and presentations on the latest research on such topic as cost effectiveness of brief interventions, opioid use intervention, and care of vulnerable groups such as adolescents, pregnant people, and hospitalized patients. Panels will also address technology and substance use interventions, such as use of AI chatbots and digital screening.
- A panel of local and regional policymakers on substance use problem prevention and early intervention strategies.
The complete agenda is available available online.
Global conference organized by UCSF and Kaiser Permanente investigators
While there are other scientific organizations devoted to the wider topics of substance use diagnosis and treatment research, INEBRIA is the only one focused specifically on brief intervention, said co-organizer Stacy Sterling, DrPH, MSW, MPH, an associate adjunct professor in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She is also a senior research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research and co-director of its Center for Addiction and Mental Health Research.
“Brief intervention is a non-judgmental, patient-centered motivational interviewing technique that has been recognized for its value in preventing or reducing problem substance use and the health and social risks that accompany it,” Sterling said. “Continued research is vital to broadening its use so we can reach more people who need help managing their substance use.”
“This research is really timely given the growing awareness of how alcohol and drug use, even at relatively low levels, can negatively impact physical and mental health,” said meeting co-organizer Derek Satre, PhD, a clinical psychologist and professor at the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, as well as an adjunct investigator with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. “The conference is also a great opportunity to bring together researchers from around the world who are studying how to maximize the impact of brief interventions.”
Further information
About UCSF Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
The UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute are among the nation's foremost resources in the fields of child, adolescent, adult, and geriatric mental health. Together they constitute one of the largest departments in the UCSF School of Medicine and the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, with a focus on providing unparalleled patient care, conducting impactful research, training the next generation of behavioral health leaders, and advancing diversity, health equity, and community across the field.
UCSF Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences conducts its clinical, educational, and research efforts at a variety of locations in Northern California, including the UCSF Nancy Friend Pritzker Psychiatry Building; UCSF Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital; UCSF Health medical centers and community hospitals across San Francisco; UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland; Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center; the San Francisco VA Health Care System; UCSF Fresno; and numerous community-based sites around the San Francisco Bay Area.
About the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences
The UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, established by the extraordinary generosity of Joan and Sanford I. "Sandy" Weill, brings together world-class researchers with top-ranked physicians to solve some of the most complex challenges in the human brain.
The UCSF Weill Institute leverages UCSF’s unrivaled bench-to-bedside excellence in the neurosciences. It unites three UCSF departments—Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Neurology, and Neurological Surgery—that are highly esteemed for both patient care and research, as well as the Neuroscience Graduate Program, a cross-disciplinary alliance of nearly 100 UCSF faculty members from 15 basic-science departments, as well as the UCSF Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, a multidisciplinary research center focused on finding effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders.
About UCSF
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is exclusively focused on the health sciences and is dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. UCSF Health, which serves as UCSF’s primary academic medical center, includes top-ranked specialty hospitals and other clinical programs, and has affiliations throughout the Bay Area.
