​What is Alcoholics Anonymous? 

Guest Bio: Marc Galanter, MD, FASAM

Marc Galanter, MD, FASAM, is Professor of Psychiatry, Founding Director of the Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and Director of the Fellowship Training Program in Addiction Psychiatry at New York University (NYU). Galanter also acts as Division Director at NYU's World Health Organization Collaborating Center, and Director of its national Center for Medical Fellowships in Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. Dr. Galanter is author of the books: Network Therapy for Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Spirituality and the Healthy Mind: Science, Therapy and the Need for Personal Meaning. He is also senior editor of the journal Substance Abuse, the annual book series, Recent Developments in Alcoholism, and coeditor of Textbook of Substance Abuse Treatment. His National Institutes of Health and foundation funded studies have addressed family therapy for alcohol and drug abuse, pharmacologic treatment for addiction, self-help treatments, and spiritually-oriented recovery. He is currently in the process of finishing his newest book, What is Alcoholics Anonymous? which touches on what AA has to offer and the twelve-step program, due for release in May 2016.

Dr. Galanter also completed his residency in Psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York. Shortly after that he was a clinical associate at the National Institute of Mental Health, as well as a teacher at the National Institutes of Health Career. Later on he served as President of the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse (AMERSA) from 1976 to 1977, the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry from 1991 to 1992, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine from 1999 to 2001.

Among his awards are: The McGovern Award for medical teaching from AMERSA; the Gold Achievement Award for innovation in clinical care and the Seymour Vestermark Award for Psychiatric Education, both from the American Psychiatric Association; and New York State's Award for Psychiatric Research.