Lizabeth Goldstein

Lizabeth Goldstein, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine and a faculty member of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. She serves as a Staff Psychologist in the SFVAHCS Integrated Care Psychology section, providing evaluation and intervention for sleep disorders in partnership with the SFVAHCS Sleep Clinic. Dr. Goldstein also participates in the VISN 21 Sleep Apnea Multidisciplinary Clinic and serves as faculty for the UCSF Sleep Medicine Fellowship, where she provides training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia.

Dr. Goldstein's educational background includes a PhD in Clinical Psychology from The Ohio State University (2015), an MA in Clinical Psychology from the same institution (2012), and a BA in Psychology with a Clinical/Counseling Concentration from The College of New Jersey (2007). She completed her Clinical Internship at VA San Diego/UCSD (2015) and a Fellowship at VA San Francisco/UCSF (2019) in the Sierra Pacific MIRECC program focused on Research/Clinical Psychology. She also completed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training at UCSF in 2020.

Dr. Goldstein's research program focuses on improving the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of sleep disorders, particularly among populations whose needs aren't met by current paradigms. As the recipient of a VA Rehabilitation R&D Career Development Award-2 (CDA-2), her primary goal is to improve the quality of life and functioning of Veterans with PTSD and sleep disturbance through evidence-based, patient-centered behavioral care. Her work addresses the critical issue that approximately 70% of Veterans with PTSD have sleep apnea but struggle to tolerate standard treatments. In response, she developed the Apnea and Insomnia Relief (AIR) protocol for Veterans with insomnia and sleep apnea, which was evaluated in a pilot randomized controlled trial. She is also actively expanding her research into health disparities in sleep disorder detection and treatment.

Analysis of Dr. Goldstein's recent publications reveals a strong focus on the intersection of sleep disorders and PTSD, particularly among Veteran populations. Her work spans clinical trials of behavioral interventions, epidemiological studies of sleep disorders in Veterans, and investigations into barriers to treatment adherence. There is a clear trajectory toward increasingly complex interventions that address multiple comorbid conditions simultaneously, with a growing emphasis on health equity and disparities. Her research methods include randomized controlled trials, mixed-methods approaches, and implementation science frameworks.

• VA Rehabilitation R&D Career Development Award-2 (CDA-2)

Dr. Goldstein is actively involved in mentoring and supervision, supervising psychology externs, interns, and postdoctoral residents in Behavioral Sleep Medicine. She serves as the lead for the Health Psychology track of the SFVAHCS Predoctoral Psychology Internship Program. Her current research funding includes a Principal Investigator role on the VA RX002952 grant "Improving Sleep and Functioning in Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder" (2019-2025) and a Co-Investigator role on the DoD GW20046 grant "Pilot Test of Apnea and Insomnia Relief for Veterans with Gulf War Illness" (2021-2026).

Through her dual roles at UCSF and the San Francisco VA Health Care System, Dr. Goldstein has established an integrated research and clinical program focused on advancing care for Veterans with complex sleep and trauma-related conditions. Her work bridges clinical psychology, sleep medicine, and implementation science to develop and test novel interventions that address unmet needs in Veteran healthcare.