Valerie Jackson, MPH, PHD

Valerie Jackson is a psychologist who specializes in helping patients manage pain and improve their quality of life using biofeedback, meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy and other techniques. She also has expertise in pain reprocessing therapy, emotional awareness and expression therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy for chronic pain. She co-founded the Psychologically Informed Physical Therapy Clinic, where pain psychologists and physical therapists work collaboratively with patients to identify ways they can move safely and reach their personal goals.

In research, Jackson's areas of focus include pain management, program development, and stigmas of physical and mental health conditions.

Jackson earned her master of public health degree at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and her doctorate in clinical psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology. She completed a fellowship in pain psychology at Stanford University. She is the founder and training director for UCSF’s pain psychology practicum, which offers professional development to the next generation of psychologists interested in pain care. She serves on the board of the American Association of Pain Psychology and as a member of the UCSF Pain and Addiction Research Center.