Who We Are

Susan E. Collins, PhD, is a professor, licensed clinical psychologist, codirector of the Harm Reduction Research and Treatment (HaRRT) Center at the University of Washington – Harborview Medical Center, and professor at Washington State University. She has been involved in substance use research, assessment and treatment for over 25 years and has disseminated this work in 80 book chapters, abstracts and peer-reviewed articles, including the new evidence-based treatment manual from Hogrefe entitled “Harm Reduction Treatment for Substance Use.” She works with multidisciplinary research and clinical teams, community-based agencies, and people who use substances to codevelop and evaluate interventions that aim to reduce substance-related harm and improve quality of life for people who use substances and their communities. She founded and clinically consults for the Harm Reduction Treatment Track at Harborview Medical Center’s Mental Health and Addiction Services. In 2013, Dr. Collins received the G. Alan Marlatt Memorial Research Award for her contributions to alcohol research. In 2015, she was invited to speak on her work at the White House and was given the New Investigator Award for her Harm Reduction Treatment development in the University of Washington Science-in-Medicine Lecture Series. Dr. Collins is also a mother, a wife, a sister and a daughter embedded within families affected by the intergenerational experience of substance use disorder and its sequelae. Susan attended her first 12-step meeting when she was 16, and her families’ and her own lived experiences drive her desire to reduce the stigma of addictive behaviors and meet people where they are at in all aspects of her work.

Department Affiliations