His passion stems from Harborview Medical Center's mission to provide excellent care for everyone regardless of their background and treat everyone with respect.
In February 2025, Charles Bombardier, PhD, received the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from Division 22 of the American Psychological Association and in September 2025 he will receive the 2025 Clinical Performance Award from the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals, Psychologists, Social Workers & Counselors Section.
His career began in 1989 when he was hired as an acting assistant professor in the University of Washington’s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. A professor since 2005, Dr. Bombardier, served as the Head of the Division of Rehabilitation Psychology and Neuropsychology from 2011-2020. His achievements and dedication to Rehabilitation Psychology make him an ideal recipient of these awards.
“Both awards mean that my work has been useful to my colleagues, and that alone is very gratifying,” said Dr. Bombardier.
A lot of Dr. Bombardier’s research has been on depression in people with disabilities such as spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and multiple sclerosis.
“There was this idea that people who acquired these disabilities “should” be depressed or that depression in that situation would be normal and understandable. These ideas among practitioners likely contributed to under-recognition and under-treatment of depression in these populations,” he added.
Dr. Bombardier asserts that with his research work, he tried to show that depression is not normal.
“In fact, resilience is the normal response to severe injury. We have worked to increase recognition of depression as a common disabling comorbid condition in people with spinal cord injury, and brain injury,” he adds.
With his research, he has worked on efficient ways for providers to screen for depression while studying the efficacy of multiple treatments for depression, including ones that are less stigmatizing and more acceptable, such as exercise or physical activity.
“We are seeing that combining treatments holds much promise in psychological (and medical) rehabilitation. We have found that combining hypnosis with cognitive therapy for chronic pain is more effective than using either hypnosis or cognitive therapy alone,” says Dr. Bombardier. His research includes studying how to combine motivational interventions with standard physical therapy and occupational therapy to improve patient participation in those therapies and achieve better outcomes. “I have been encouraging psychologists to combine exercise promotion with the other treatments they use for depression as there is evidence that exercise boosts the efficacy of those other treatments,” asserts Dr. Bombardier.
Thinking back to a particular moment Dr. Bombardier was most proud of, he recalls 2010 when his paper on the prevalence of depression after traumatic brain injury was accepted by the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“I was flown to New York City for the press release, and a film crew was sent to Seattle to interview us. The project was a huge team effort, and I remain very grateful for my wonderful co-authors, Drs. Jesse Fann, Sureyya Dikmen, Nancy Temkin, Peter Esselman, and Jason Barber,” he adds.
Dr. Bombardier has served on many boards and committees for the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Brain Injury Association of America, the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, and the American Psychological Association, Division 22 Rehabilitation Psychology.
“I’ve also been inspired by my colleagues in rehabilitation medicine who have been superb researchers, teachers, and clinicians; the mutual respect I have experienced with my psychologist and physician colleagues, as well as by how members of the 4-West inpatient rehabilitation team have worked together and supported each other,” adds Dr. Bombardier.
He also spent his career providing clinical training and mentorship to rehabilitate psychology residents and fellows. To current and future psychology trainees said, “We are currently facing unparalleled challenges to our core values and systems of care. We should keep fighting for justice, equal access to treatment, and full inclusion for all those we serve.
Dr. Bombardier has published over 170 peer-reviewed articles and 17 book chapters on psychological aspects of traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, and stroke. He has given countless national and international presentations. Other accolades include the APA Division 22 Harold Yuker Award, the Licht Award, the Mitch Rosenthal Memorial Lecture Award, the Roger Barker Research Award, and APA Fellow status.