Dr. Paul Toriello is an Associate Professor director of the PhD Program in the Department of Rehabilitation Studies. Dr. Toriello earned his RhD in Rehabilitation, specializing in Substance Use Disabilities from the Rehabilitation Institute, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He received a Bachelors in Psychology and a Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling from Wright State University.

Dr. Toriello’s research interests include: organizational change, dynamics of substance abuse counseling including- motivational interviewing (MI), self-determination theory, and vocational interventions. For his MI research in 2005, Dr. Toriello won an American Rehabilitation Counseling Association Research Award.

In the role of Principal Investigator or Research Consultant, Dr. Toriello has participated in grant projects funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and other national funding organizations.

Since entering the substance abuse treatment field in 1991, he has worked as a paraprofessional technician, counselor, case manager, clinical supervisor, trainer, and clinical director. Dr. Toriello is a trained MI trainer, clinical supervision trainer, and addiction severity index trainer.

Dr. Toriello is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, a Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist, and a Certified Clinical Supervisor. He has also been in recovery from addiction since 1989.

e-mail: toriellop@ecu.edu