Bio

Erin Watson, PsyD, ABPP, is a board-certified clinical health psychologist and Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology at Stanford University School of Medicine. She specializes in helping people understand and manage the psychological, behavioral, and lifestyle factors that can affect their physical health. Her clinical interests include coping with chronic illness, managing stress and health-related anxiety, making sustainable health behavior changes, and using evidence-based mind-body and behavioral approaches to improve symptoms, functioning, and quality of life.

Dr. Watson has specialized in health psychology and behavioral medicine throughout her education, training, and career. She completed her doctoral training with an emphasis in Primary Care Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, followed by advanced training in health psychology and integrated medical care and a postdoctoral fellowship focused on infectious and liver diseases. Before joining Stanford, she spent more than a decade at the San Francisco VA and UCSF providing behavioral health care within medical settings, including primary care, chronic pain, liver and infectious disease, bariatric medicine, and outpatient health psychology.

At Stanford, Dr. Watson is part of GI & Liver Behavioral Medicine, where she works with adults living with digestive and liver conditions. Her work in psychogastroenterology addresses the important connections between the brain, behavior, and digestive system. She also has a particular interest in advancing psycho-hepatology, which brings health psychology and behavioral medicine into liver care. Her goal is to help patients develop practical skills for coping with illness, managing symptoms and stress, changing health behaviors, and living well alongside chronic medical conditions.

Dr. Watson is a dedicated clinician-educator with more than a decade of experience teaching and supervising psychology trainees and educating healthcare professionals across disciplines. Her current academic work includes research examining behavioral approaches to chronic pain and opioid use through a National Institutes of Health-funded study, as well as a recently funded Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) study evaluating behavioral interventions for people living with rare liver diseases. Across her clinical care, research, teaching, and program development, she works to advance the integration of psychological and behavioral science into medical care and improve the health and quality of life of people living with chronic disease.

Clinical Focus

  • Clinical Health Psychology
  • Psycho-hepatology
  • Psychogastroenterology
  • Clinical Psychology

Academic Appointments

Honors & Awards

  • Fellow, American Academy of Clinical Health Psychology (2025)
  • Early Career Psychologist of the Month, Association of VA Psychologist Leaders (AVAPL) (2022)
  • Psychologists in Public Service Early Career Achievement Award, Division 18, American Psychological Association (APA) (2020)
  • Special Contributions Award, Psychology Director, San Francisco VA Mental Health Service (2020)
  • Outstanding Psychologist, Psychology Awards Committee, San Francisco VA Mental Health Service (2016)

Professional Education

  • Board Certification, American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP-CH), Clinical Health Psychology (2025)
  • Fellowship, San Francisco VA/ University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Clinical Psychology, Emphasis in HIV and Liver Diseases (2015)
  • Internship, Portland VA/ Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), Clinical Psychology (2014)
  • PsyD, Adler University, Clinical Psychology, Emphasis in Primary Care Psychology and Behavioral Medicine (2014)
  • MA, Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Clinical Counseling (2008)
  • BS, College of Charleston, Psychology (2006)

Contact

  • Clinical (Primary)  Stanford Gastroenterology and Digestive Health Clinic 420 Broadway St Pav D 2nd Fl Pod 2 and 3 Redwood City, CA 94063 (650) 498-6323 (fax)

Additional Clinical Info

All Publications

  • Rationale and design of a multisite randomized clinical trial examining an integrated behavioral treatment for veterans with co-occurring chronic pain and opioid use disorder: The pain and opioids integrated treatment in veterans (POSITIVE) trial. Contemporary clinical trials Vowles, K. E., Witkiewitz, K., Clarke, E., Schmidt, Z., Borsari, B., Edwards, K. E., Korecki, J. R., Moniz-Lewis, D. I., Bondzie, J. A., Mullins, C., Thoreson, C. I., Delacruz, J., Wilkins, C. H., Nelson, S., Delventura, J., Henderson, R., Katz, A., Hua, W., Watson, E., Baxley, C., Canlas, B. R., Pendleton, T., Herbst, E., Batki, S. 2023: 107096

    Abstract

    Chronic pain and opioid use disorder (OUD) individually represent a risk to health and well-being. Concerningly, there is evidence that they are frequently co-morbid. While few treatments exist that simultaneously target both conditions, preliminary work has supported the feasibility of an integrated behavioral treatment targeting pain interference and opioid misuse. This treatment combined Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (ACT+MBRP). This paper describes the protocol for the adequately powered efficacy study of this integrated treatment.A multisite randomized controlled trial will examine the efficacy of ACT+MBRP in comparison to a parallel education control condition, focusing on opioid safety and pain education. Participants include veterans (n = 160; 21-75 years old) recruited from three Veterans Administration (VA) Healthcare Systems with chronic pain who are on a stable dose of buprenorphine. Both conditions include twelve weekly 90 min group sessions delivered via telehealth. Primary outcomes include pain interference (Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System - Pain Interference) and hazardous opioid use (Current Opioid Misuse Measure), which will be examined at the end of the active treatment phase and through 12 months post-intervention. Secondary analyses will evaluate outcomes including pain intensity, depression, pain-related fear, and substance use, as well as treatment mechanisms.This study will determine the efficacy of an integrated behavioral treatment program for pain interference and hazardous opioid use among veterans with chronic pain and OUD who are prescribed buprenorphine, addressing a critical need for more integrated treatments for chronic pain and OUD.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04648228.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.cct.2023.107096

    View details for PubMedID 36693589

  • Optimizing pain treatment interventions (OPTI): A pilot randomized controlled trial of collaborative care to improve chronic pain management and opioid safety-Rationale, methods, and lessons learned. Contemporary clinical trials Seal, K. H., Borsari, B., Tighe, J., Cohen, B. E., Delucchi, K., Morasco, B. J., Li, Y., Sachs, E., Abadjian, L., Watson, E. C., Manuel, J. K., Vella, L., Trafton, J., Midboe, A. 2019; 77: 76-85

    Abstract

    Veterans seeking care in VA medical facilities have high rates of chronic pain, which often co-occur with mental health and substance use disorders, including prescription opioid misuse. The overall goal of the Optimizing Pain Treatment Interventions (OPTI) study was to pilot a 12-week Collaborative Care intervention to improve opioid safety, chronic pain disability, and use of non-pharmacological pain management strategies in veterans in VA primary care. Between November 2014 and January 2017, 100 veteran patients with chronic pain and high-risk prescription opioid use (e.g., high-dose therapy, early refills, etc.) were enrolled and completed an initial one-hour study visit with a primary care provider (PCP) within 4 weeks of enrollment. Study PCPs were guided by a web-based opioid management decision support program and templated notes in the VA electronic medical record. After assessment and education, study PCPs used Shared Decision-Making to formulate a Pain Care Plan aligned with a participant's personal values and goals. After the initial visit, patients randomized to Collaborative Care received one Motivational Interviewing (MI) session with a Care Manager followed by 3 Care Manager-delivered brief telephone MI sessions at 6, 8, and 12 weeks to reinforce Pain Care Plans; patients randomized to an Attention Control condition met with a Care Manager briefly, followed by 3 brief scripted telephone psychoeducation sessions at 6, 8, and 12 weeks. Masked evaluators assessed outcomes at baseline, end of intervention (12 weeks), and after eight weeks of no contact (20 weeks). We present study rationale, detailed methods, preliminary results and lessons learned.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.cct.2018.12.006

    View details for PubMedID 30572163

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6392081

  • Mixed-method approach to veteran satisfaction with pain education. Journal of rehabilitation research and development Watson, E. C., Cosio, D., Lin, E. H. 2014; 51 (3): 503-14

    Abstract

    Patient education is a central component in high-quality integrated care of patients with chronic pain. The current study assessed patients' satisfaction with a 12 wk "Pain Education School" program within the initial 2 yr phase of implementation. A mixed-method treatment outcome design was used. A sample of 219 veterans between November 6, 2009, and January 20, 2012, was evaluated. Quantitative findings suggest that patients reported learning "new and useful" information (mean = 4.62 +/- 0.82), perceived the program as "easy to understand" (4.62 +/- 0.70), used the learned information (4.58 +/- 0.77), and recommended the program to others (4.71 +/- 0.74). Four thematic maps emerged from the qualitative data. Response percentages were calculated in order to illustrate the relative magnitude of emerging themes and subthemes corresponding to participant extracts.

    View details for DOI 10.1682/JRRD.2013.10.0221

    View details for PubMedID 25019671