Elizabeth Ellen Epstein

Elizabeth Ellen Epstein, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School, with her primary appointment in the T.H. Chan School of Medicine. She maintains a robust research program focused specifically on women with alcohol use disorder and related behavioral health conditions.

Education:

• BA in Psychology from Clark University, Worcester, MA
• MS in Psychology from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
• PhD in Clinical Psychology from University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT

Dr. Epstein's research focuses on gender-specific treatment approaches for alcohol use disorder, with particular emphasis on women's health, cognitive behavioral therapy adaptations, couple and family interventions, and mechanisms of change in treatment. Her work frequently examines the unique needs of women veterans and how physiological factors like menstrual cycle phase impact treatment outcomes. She has pioneered research on female-specific cognitive behavioral therapy protocols and their comparative effectiveness against standard approaches.

Analyzing her recent publication history reveals a strong focus on gender-specific treatment mechanisms, with increasing attention to digital health interventions and co-occurring disorders. Her research has evolved from foundational work on classification of drinking patterns to sophisticated investigations of treatment mechanisms, with consistent emphasis on women's health across her career. Recent work shows expansion into veteran populations and integration of physiological measures with behavioral outcomes.

Dr. Epstein has collaborated extensively with researchers including Bruce McCrady, Katie Hallgren, and Christine Holzhauer on numerous clinical trials examining alcohol treatment efficacy. Her work has been consistently funded through NIH mechanisms, supporting both clinical trials and methodological innovations in measuring treatment processes.

She maintains active research collaborations with the Center of Excellence in Substance Abuse Treatment and Education at the VA Boston Healthcare System, with particular focus on women veterans. Her laboratory has developed specialized protocols for gender-specific cognitive behavioral therapy and has contributed significantly to understanding how treatment mechanisms differ for women compared to men with alcohol use disorders.