Prof. Richard Velleman, BSc, MSc, PhD, FRSS, C Psychol, FBPsS

Richard is both an academic and a practicing clinical psychologist, with over 50 years of experience in research on addiction and related areas. Since the mid-1970s, he has conducted extensive research and published widely across the fields of addiction and mental health, with work spanning a broad range of topics, including:

• prevention,

• intervention development,

• effectiveness of interventions,

• and alcohol policy.

His research spans alcohol use, illicit drugs, and gambling, as well as depression, psychosis, childhood mental health difficulties, counselling and psychotherapy, and the development of mental health and addiction services. His primary areas of focus have been addiction and the family, and addiction and mental health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

In the area of family work, he has developed influential theory and practice on resilience among children growing up in problem families, as well as interventions for adult family members affected by a relative’s addiction. This includes the Stress–Strain–Information–Coping–Support (SSICS) Model and the 5-Step Method of intervention.Within his LMIC work, he has designed evidence-based interventions for depression and alcohol problems that can be delivered by lay health workers, as well as technology-enabled interventions using mobile phones and other digital platforms. He has led pilot and large-scale randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating these approaches. He has published 18 books (including second and third editions of several titles) and over 300 peer-reviewed academic papers, scholarly chapters, and research reports. As of January 2026, his Google Scholar metrics include an h-index of 64, an i10-index of 138, and approximately 12,650 citations.