Chelsea Ratcliff, Ph.D.
Biographical Summary
Dr. Chelsea Ratcliff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, a licensed clinical psychologist, and the director of the Integrative Health Lab at the University of Houston. She received a B.A. in Psychology and Religion from Trinity University and M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Houston. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC) in Houston, Texas and a postdoctoral fellowship focused on health services research at the Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) through MEDVAMC and Baylor College of Medicine, where she remains Adjunct Faculty. After completing her fellowship, Dr. Ratcliff joined the faculty at Sam Houston State University, where she worked in the clinical psychology doctoral program for 8 years. She returned to the University of Houston as an Associate Professor in 2025.
Dr. Ratcliff is interested in studying impact of mental and emotional health on physical health-related outcomes for individuals with medical illnesses, including cancer, chronic pain, spinal cord injury, and type 2 diabetes. Dr. Ratcliff's work also examines the effect of brief behavioral and mindfulness-based interventions on mental and physical health outcomes in a variety of populations affected by medical illness. She has received research funding from the NIH's National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, the National Cancer Institute, and the Veteran Health Administration's South Central MIRECC.