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Kitty Harris-Wilkes

Kitty Harris-Wilkes

Director

College of Human Sciences
Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery

Contact Information

Email: kitty.s.harris@ttu.edu
Phone: (806) 742-2891
Fax:
Mailstop:
Website: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/hs/csa/
Habla Español: no
Spanish Interview: no

Expertise

Topics

No topics are associated with this expert

Areas of Expertise

Alcohol addiction, alcoholism, drug abuse, drug addiction, substance abuse, recovery programs, Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery

Biography

Kitty Harris-Wilkes is director of the Center for the Study of Addiction & Recovery and co-director of the Center for Prevention and Resiliency. 

 

As director of Texas Tech’s pioneering Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery, Harris has overseen the explosive growth of the country’s largest – and one of the oldest –  campus recovery communities.

 

A dynamic interview, Harris has first-hand experience working with hundreds of college students who have managed to overcome drug and alcohol addictions – during the past 20 years, in fact, more than 500 students have graduated through the program with only seven percent of active participants suffering relapses.

The program has been so successful that Harris has overseen or advised the development of similar programs at schools such as the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Texas and the University of Texas at San Antonio. She also has created a curriculum model that is being distributed nationally.

Another key area tackled by the center: research initiatives to better understand the processes and factors involved in young adult recovery.  Through this work, center researchers could impact national perspective and policy concerning methods of recovery support in areas such as social networking, family involvement and relapse prevention

 

 

Biographical information:

Dr. Harris received her Master’s Degree in Speech Communication from University of North Texas in 1974 and her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Texas Tech University in 1983. 

 

Harris has been on the faculty of Texas Tech University since 1988 teaching in the areas of Human Development and Educational and Counseling Psychology.  Additionally, she has clinical experience in adult, adolescent, and family therapy.  She has been in private clinical practice since 1983.  In 1992, Harris received the Elves Smith Counselor of the Year Award from the Texas Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors for outstanding service in the field of addiction education and counseling.  Past clinical experience includes:

 

Currently, Dr. Harris is involved in conducting qualitative research to obtain perspectives from students on components of the Collegiate Recovery Community for comparison with recovering students who are not affiliated with the program.  These data are expected to provide insight into specific factors that influence participants’ success in recovery.  Additionally, she is involved in research that seeks to isolate the demographic, social, and psychological variables that are most important to recovery from a young adult perspective.  The study will examine the context of addiction and recovery as related to academic settings.

 

Dr. Harris cites three goals for the Center for the Study of Addiction.  The first and most important goal is the creation a Collegiate Recovery Community in which each student who comes in contact with the Center enhances their recovery, is successful academically, and becomes a person of character and integrity.  Secondly, it is important for the Center to increase participation in research that impacts the way addiction is viewed from an individual, familial, and social perspective, especially with respect to the issue of continuing care.  Lastly, it is critical that funding to the Center be increased through institutional, governmental, and private awards.

 

 

 




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