A memorial service for G. Alan Marlatt, a 91探花psychology professor, will be held Sunday, May 15, at 1 p.m. at the 91探花Center for Urban Horticulture.
The service is open to the public and attendees are asked to RSVP to seemac@uw.edu.
Marlatt, who was director of the UWs , died March 14 from complications with melanoma. He was 69. He was known around the world as a compassionate advocate for a more humane approach to addiction treatments.
Marlatt joined the 91探花faculty in 1972 and his (BARLAB) 鈥� a combination of a bar and a research lab 鈥� gained fame on campus in the 1980s.聽 “BARLAB served not only clever research functions, but it also has become an integral part of our department,鈥� said Sheri Mizumori, chair of the 91探花psychology department.
Marlatt believed that addicts should be met “where they are鈥� instead of being required to commit to abstinence before treatment. For instance, Marlatt supported the 2005 opening of Seattles apartment building, which allows homeless alcoholics to drink in their rooms. found that the controversial building saved taxpayers $4 million each year, because residents did not use costly emergency services such as hospitals and jails. The study also found that residents, even though they were not required to do so, drank less.
“He was a visionary and a luminary. He generated ideas that were ahead of their time in so many different ways,” Dennis Donovan, director of UWs and one of Marlatts former graduate students, told the .
Marlatts studies also revealed factors that could predict drug relapse.
“Alan found that these high-risk situations can be planned for, and that by being taught appropriate coping responses the person can learn to avoid relapse,鈥� , associate director of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center and Marlatts longtime colleague, told the . “Prior to Alans work there was a perception that relapse was an inevitable part of the disease of addiction, primarily triggered by biological processes,鈥� she said.
Mizumori said that the department will miss Marlatts tireless and passionate work as a researcher and mentor. “We will also miss his undaunted vision regarding numerous departmental issues, and the way his smile and matter-of-factness made anything seem possible.鈥�
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