Kate Comtois, PhD, MPH is Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington. She received her Ph.D. in clinical/community psychology from the University of Maryland in 1992.  She received her MPH in Health Services at the University of Washington in 2009.  

Dr. Comtois’ research career is dedicated to promoting the recovery of individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts and behavior and the effectiveness and resilience of the clinical staff and families who care for them.  This is the focus of her clinical work and training as well as her health services, treatment development, and clinical trials research. Dr. Comtois has over 25 years of experience in Dialectical Behavior Therapy training and implementation in large health systems.  She founded and is past president of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC), a leading implementation science organization, and directed the Dissemination and Implementation Core of the Military Suicide Research Consortium.

Dr. Comtois directed the Harborview DBT program, one of the longest standing DBT programs in the country, from 1996-2019.  She now leads the DBT program at the UW Medicine Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic.  The Harborview DBT program received an award in 2000 as the best direct service program of all Medicaid-funded mental health or substance abuse programs in Seattle/King County. Over 20 years ago, Dr. Comtois developed the UW Psychiatry Annual DBT training program for psychiatry residents, pre-doctoral psychology interns, social work practicum students and other trainees and continues to co-lead the program for which she has received teaching awards and published follow-up results showing how DBT was used by psychiatrists following graduation. Dr. Comtois coordinated a track of the psychology pre-doctoral internship program in community psychology for 9 years and an NIMH T32 fellowship for 5 years.  Dr. Comtois has received awards for her teaching and mentoring from the UW Psychiatry Residency and Psychology Pre-doctoral Internship programs and was the UW Postdoctoral Association Mentor of the Year in 2008.

Dr. Comtois has been assisting programs to implement DBT since 1996.  She has provided training and consultation on DBT to community mental health agencies, inpatient psychiatric programs, outpatient and residential substance abuse treatment, juvenile and adult corrections, private and university outpatient clinics, and primary care.  She has trained and collaborated in the implementation of DBT with African-American, American Indian, and Alaska Native programs.  She has trained across the United States as well as in Canada, England, Norway, and Australia.  Having directed a DBT program in public mental health for over 20 years, Dr. Comtois is particularly knowledgeable about the systemic issues of DBT implementation and the structural changes needed for sustainable implementation.

Kate is a Certified DBT Clinician by the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification.

Contact Kate