National speaker Marisa Silveri, PhD, and a panel of UNMC experts draw approximately 25 people to the Munroe-Meyer Institute’s “Kicking off Sober October: Exploring Alcohol Use through Sober Curious conversations” event on Sept. 13 in the Wigton Heritage Center atrium.
Dr. Silveri, director of the Neurodevelopmental Laboratory on Addictions and Mental Health at McLean Hospital and associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, spoke on her personal experiences, the latest evidence about the risks of heavy alcohol use and the “sober curious” movement.
The panel of UNMC experts, including addiction psychiatrist Alëna Balasanova, MD, and alcohol researchers Jennifer Blackford, PhD, and Todd Wyatt, PhD, drew many questions from the audience, according to event organizer Katelyn Kelley.
See more information on the sober curious movement.
Kelley said the event – and the questions – ran the gamut, to people asking about the sober curious movement to people asking questions about dealing with alcohol addiction.
“As Dr. Silveri went over, no amount of alcohol really is a safe amount of alcohol,” Kelley said. “There are ramifications in as far as hormones, insulin levels, many things — even with like that one glass of wine that’s ‘healthy’ for you.”
The first event was open to members of the medical center community, but Kelley said her team is considering opening the event to the public in the coming years.
The event grew out of the work of Jenni Blackford, PhD, for the Vanderbilt Alcohol Use Disorder Research Education Center, where she serves as the associate director.
“People were extremely interested in the question-and-answer portion of the event,” Kelley said. “People have a lot of interest in the topic, which is exciting.”
People also discussed how to approach a loved one with an alcohol use disorder, Kelley said.
“There was a lot of talk about planting seeds,” she said — soft conversational entry points that might lead to a deeper discussion.
The event also included tables with resources for attendees like Northpoint Nebraska (a local recovery center) and Arbor Family Counseling (UNMC’s Employee Assistance Program provider). There were also Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) flyers for students. Dry Spokes, a local dry bar, served mocktail samples for all attendees!
Dr. Blackford’s team studies alcohol use disorder, specifically looking at how anxiety and sex differences play a role in recovery. They have several ongoing studies looking for individuals who are in early recovery and people who have not had alcohol use disorder. To find out more about the studies visit the study websites here: