Associate Professor
Psychology
cgratcliff@central.uh.edu 
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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.

Laboratory 

Integrative Health Lab

Research Interests 

• Mindfulness- and acceptance-based interventions, particularly for individuals with medical conditions 
• Increasing access to mental health interventions 
• Risk and protective factors related to mental health and quality of life in the context of medical treatment

Selected Publications  

*denotes student co-authors mentored by Dr. Ratcliff

• Korupolu, R., Ratcliff, C.G., Lohiya, S., Taylor, H., Li, R., Robinson-Whelen, S. (2025). Feasibility and acceptability of an app-based mindfulness meditation intervention for people with spinal cord injury and chronic pain. Topics in Spinal Cord Rehabilitation.
• Ratcliff, C.G., Langley, H. Torres, D.*, Anderson, K.* (2025). Randomized Controlled Trial of brief app-based gratitude and mindfulness interventions for parents of young children. Journal of Family Psychology. 10.1037/fam0001347
• Ratcliff, C.G., Lohiya, S., Robinson-Whelen, S., Taylor, H., Ahn, A.*, Korupolu, R. (2024). Mindfulness buffers the association of pain with depression and anxiety among people with SCI: A cross-sectional study. Rehabilitation Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/rep0000593
• Senger, A.*, Ratcliff, C.G., Semelsberger, R.*, Chaoul, A., Cohen, L. (2023). The role of coping and posttraumatic stress in fostering posttraumatic growth and quality of life among women with breast cancer. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 31(2), 368–378. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-023-09977-x
• Dindo, L., Moitra, E., Roddy, M.K., Ratcliff, C.G., Markham, C., Giordano, T. (2022). Development and initial feasibility of a hospital-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy intervention to improve retention in for out-of-care persons with HIV: Lessons learned from an open pilot trial. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 11(10): 2827. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11102827
• Sinclair, K.*, Kiser, E.*, Ratcliff, C.G., Chaoul, A., Hall, T., Rinpoche, T.W., Cohen, L. (2022). Sleep moderates the effects of Tibetan yoga for women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Journal of Supportive Care in Cancer, 30(5):4477-4484. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-06861-6

• Ratcliff, C.G., Fowler, S.*, Sinclair, K.*, Prinsloo, S., Chaoul, A., Zepeda, S.G., Spelman, A., Yang, W., Cohen, L. (2021). Who benefits most from a brief mindfulness intervention to reduce anxiety during stereotactic breast biopsy: The moderating effect of trait mindfulness, spiritual well-being, and distress tolerance. Mindfulness, 12, 1127–1137. https://doi.org/1007/s12671-020-01581-6

A full list of publications can be found at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/chelsea.ratcliff.2/bibliography/public/