Katherine S Wright, PhD

Katherine Wright, PhD, MA, is a clinical psychologist in the Rehabilitation Medicine department at UW Medicine who has expertise in psychological management of chronic pain, substance use, health behavior change, and emotional reactions to acute injuries and physical or cognitive disabilities. She works with inpatients at Harborview Medical Center in the acute inpatient rehabilitation program and sees patients throughout the hospital on the inpatient consultation-liaison service. She also sees outpatients in the Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Program. Dr. Wright earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Human Services Psychology from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, with an emphasis in Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Medicine. She completed her predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship in Rehabilitation Psychology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She was an Assistant Professor in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from 2016 to 2019 before joining the faculty at the University of Washington in the fall of 2019.

Education and Training

• Middlebury College Bachelor of Arts, Neuroscience major 2001-2004 
• University of Maryland Baltimore County Master of Arts, Human Services Psychology, Clinical Psychology/Behavioral Medicine 2008-2015
• University of Washington, School of Medicine, Dept. of Psychiatry Doctor of Philosophy, Neuropsychology/Behavioral Medicine 2014-2015
• University of Washington School of Medicine, Dept. of Rehabilitation Medicine Postdoctoral Fellowship, Rehabilitation Psychology 2015-2016

Notable Awards

• 2015: The Joan C. Martin, Ph.D. Award, University of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Clinical Interests

Using a multidisciplinary and biopsychosocial approach, Dr. Wright treats patients by facilitating adjustment to injury and coping with hospitalization, conducting psychological assessments, managing acute and chronic pain, assessing for reactions to trauma, providing behavioral management support, treating anxiety, depression, and PTSD, and promoting health behavior change.

Teaching Interests

Dr. Wright is involved with clinical teaching of predoctoral psychology interns and postdoctoral rehabilitation psychology fellows. She supervises trainees in their clinical work with patients involved in the inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation programs.

Research Interests

Her research interests are in chronic pain treatment, motivational Interviewing, substance use, and health behavior change.