Linda C. Sobell


Linda Carter Sobell, Ph.D., ABPP, is the President's Distinguished Professor at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She is a professor of clinical psychology, addiction specialist, co-director of NSU's Guided Self-Change clinic, a Motivational Interviewing Trainer, and is board-certified in cognitive and behavioral psychology.
Sobell has been recognized for her research in the addictions field including brief motivational interventions, self-change, and the Timeline Followback. She is a Fellow in the American Psychological Association, Canadian Psychological Association, American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology, and the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy.
Sobell is the former president of the Society of Clinical Psychology of the APA and Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.

Education

Sobell earned her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California at Irvine in 1976 with a dissertation entitled "The validity of self-reports: Towards a predictive model". Before that, she had earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Linguistics as a double major in 1970, followed by a Master of Arts in Social Sciences in 1974, all from the University of California at Irvine.

Awards

Timeline Followback (TLFB)

Sobell began using the Timeline Followback method in her research in the 1970's, publishing evidence of the TLFB's validity and reliability for alcohol use through the 70's and 80's. In 1992, Linda published the user manual describing the approach and validation work for the TLFB as applied to alcohol use patterns Since then, the TLFB has been expanded as an assessment for cannabis, cocaine, smoking, and other substance use behaviors. The TLFB is one of the most highly regarded psychometric methods for obtaining retrospective reports of substance use behaviors. Both the FDA and European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction recommend the TLFB for measuring alcohol use.
The TLFB is a semi-structured interview that uses a calendar prompt and other memory aids to facilitate accurate recall of the number of drinks consumed each day during a given target period. In alcohol clinical trials, the TLFB is administered at baseline and then multiple times during the treatment period. A variety of drinking endpoints can be derived from the daily number of drinks captured by the TLFB; these include the FDA-recommended endpoints, as well as the new World Health Organization risk drinking endpoints, among others.

Guided Self-Change Treatment Model for Substance Use

Drs. Linda Sobell and Mark Sobell established the Guided Self-Change model for treating substance use disorders while working as professors at the University of Toronto, Canada in 1984. The GSC is a brief, motivational cognitive-behavioral harm reduction treatment designed to offer an alternative to abstinent only treatment programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous or 12 steps. The GSC approach has been shown to improve recovery outcomes in several clinical trials and was recognized by the Surgeon General's report on Facing Addiction in America as an appropriate treatment for individuals who have mild alcohol or drug problems.
By the 1970's a considerable amount of research began to appear demonstrating that alcohol problems occurred on a continuum ranging from mild to severe, mild cases of alcohol problems were more prevalent than severe cases, and alcohol problems were not necessarily progressive. At the time, the traditional views held that 'low-severity' alcohol problems were simply in the 'early stages' of an irreversible course to severe 'alcoholism' which required anyone with any alcohol problems to be treated with intensive-inpatient facilities. However, research did not endorse that view or the efficacy of such expensive, disruptive, and intensive treatment programs for all alcohol users which inspired the Sobells to develop a cheaper, briefer, and less disruptive treatment program that more people could benefit from. Drawing from research in England on brief interventions for individuals with alcohol use disorder, their own work on 'natural recovery', and emerging work on motivational interviewing to change behavior, the Sobells started to form a new theoretical and treatment model for alcohol use.
One of the most innovative aspects of the GSC model and treatment program is the incorporation of moderation and harm reduction goals over abstinence only. The research at the time suggested that individuals with alcohol related problems preferred non-abstinence goals and that treatments allowing for moderation would increase their motivation to seek treatment than the abstinence only treatment as usual options of the time. By extension, another important difference of the GSC approach is the conceptualization of 'relapse prevention'. Where abstinent only models treat any post-quit drink as a treatment failure which occur due to a lack of skills, the GSC approach assumes that most people have the skills and resources to achieve a successful outcome and the goal of treatment is to mobilize those skills.
According to the Sobells:
"Although GSC is similar to other cognitive-behavioral brief interventions for alcohol problems, it also is unique in several ways. First, GSC explicitly allows clients to choose their goal. Second, it routinely uses self-monitoring logs as a clinical procedure, for data collection, and to provide clients feedback in terms of changes in substance use. Third, it includes a cognitive relapse prevention component to provide a realistic perspective on recovery and management of goal violations. Fourth, it is flexible rather than being fixed in its structure. Fifth, it includes a planned after care telephone contact 1 month after the last treatment session. Finally, GSC uses brief readings for its decisional balance and problem-solving components. The GSC approach has been refined and extended to various populations and settings over the years. However, the following elements have been used in most GSC studies: a motivational interviewing style, provision of personalized feedback, brief readings and homework assignments, self-monitoring of substance use, clients select their own goals, and cognitive relapse prevention."

Guided Self-Change Healthy Lifestyles Program

From the Guided Self-Change Healthy Lifestyles Program Website:
"The Guided Self-Change Healthy Lifestyles outpatient program at Nova Southeastern University's College of Psychology offers a unique short-term, evidence-based, non-12 step alternative treatment not available elsewhere in Florida. The GSCC program has been recognized in the Surgeon General's report Facing Addiction in America as an appropriate treatment for individuals who have mild alcohol or drug problems. It also is included the American Psychological Association's Division 12 website listing of Empirically Supported Treatments."
"Services are offered for individuals concerned about their use of alcohol, other drugs, and tobacco products. The program also offers services for individuals who want to develop a healthier lifestyle, lose weight, exercise more, quit smoking cigarettes, quit gambling, deal with sleep difficulties, and reduce internet or video game use. This evidence-based, motivational harm reduction program empowers people to take responsibility for their own change and utilize personal strengths for setting and achieving goals."
Though developed in English, services have since been translated to be administered in Spanish. The number of sessions is variable and is determined by individual needs.

Books

All by Linda Carter Sobell and Mark B. Sobell unless stated:', Guilford Press,