Seema L. Clifasefi, PhD, MSW
seemac@uw.edu | CV
Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Co-Director, Harm Reduction Research & Treatment Center
University of Washington
UW Medicine, School of Medicine
Box 359911, Seattle, WA 98195
Phone: 206.543.3452 |Fax: 206.744.6080
uwpsychiatry.org | https://depts.washington.edu/harrtlab/
Seema L. Clifasefi, PhD, is an associate professor and codirector of the Harm Reduction Research and Treatment (HaRRT) Center in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington-Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, WA. Her research lies at the intersection of substance use, mental health, criminal justice and housing policy, with an emphasis on populations with lived experience of homelessness, substance use and/or involvement in the criminal justice system. Since 2006, she has worked collaboratively with affected communities to develop, evaluate and disseminate programs and interventions that aim to reduce substance related harm and improve quality of life. During this time, she has been an integral part of two collaborative academic and community-based research partnerships that have contributed to large-scale national policy shifts around housing and criminal justice reform. She aims to center the voices of the populations whom she is working on behalf of and ultimately through her work hopes to create positive social transformation and health equity through community capacity building, self determination, and compassionate pragmatism.
Current Grants
Principal Investigator, National Institute on Alcohol and Alcohol Abuse, 2019-2024. Title: A cluster-randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of the Life Enhancing Alcohol-management Program (LEAP) for Housing First residents.
Principal Investigator, State Proviso, 2019-2021. Title: The Doorway Project. A project focused on addressing youth and young adult homelessness in the University District.
UW Site PI, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2019-2021. Title: Counseling for Harm Reduction and Retention in MAT with Cherokee Nation (CHaRRM-CN); (CoPIs: Nelson & Collins, WSU).
Co-Investigator, National Institute on Alcohol and Alcohol Abuse, 2017-2022. Title: Development and Randomized Clinical Trial of Harm Reduction Talking Circles (HaRTC) for Urban American Indians and Alaska Natives with Alcohol Use Disorders. (CoPIs: Nelson & Collins, WSU).
Selected Publications
- Collins, S. E., Clifasefi, S. L., Straits, K., et al. (2018). Community-based participatory research (CBPR): Towards equitable involvement of community in psychology research. American Psychologist, 73, 884-898. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000167
- Clifasefi, S. L., Lonczak, H. S., & Collins, S. E. (2017). Seattle’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) Program: Within-subjects changes on housing, employment and income/benefits outcomes and associations with recidivism. Crime & Delinquency, 63, 429–445. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128716687550
- Clifasefi, S. L, Collins, S. E., Torres, N. I., Grazioli, V. S., Mackelprang, J. L. (2016). Housing First, but what comes second? A qualitative study of resident, staff and management perspectives on single-site housing first program enhancement. Journal of Community Psychology, 44, 845–855. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21812
- Clifasefi, S. L., Malone, D. K., & Collins, S. E. (2013). Exposure to project-based Housing First is associated with reduced jail time and bookings. International Journal of Drug Policy, 24, 291-296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2012.10.002
- Larimer, M. E., Malone, D. K., Garner, M. D., Atkins, D., Burlingham, B., Lonczak, H. S., Tanzer, K., Ginzler, J., Clifasefi, S. L., Hobson, W. G., & Marlatt, G. A. (2009). Health care and public service use and costs before and after provision of housing for chronically homeless persons with severe alcohol problems. Journal of the American Medical Association, 301, 1349-1357. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2009.414