Credentials

I have many years of experience in a private practice of psychiatry and psychotherapy.  I am an American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology certified psychiatrist, and am certified by the American Board of Addiction Medicine.

After completing an internship in internal medicine, I completed a psychiatry residency at UCSF. I am an integrative medicine fellow and faculty member.

I have been a senior faculty member, and the Behavioral and Addiction Medicine Director, for a UCSF-affiliated internal medicine residency, where I supervised residents and taught patient-physician communication and behavioral health. I also founded and directed the first premedical student health coach project.

I am the founder of:
Abramowitz Healthy Communicating.com

Awards

Award for exceptional psychotherapeutic skills and unusual concern for the welfare of patients
Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, UCSF

Humanist Medicine Award
Division of Primary Care Internal Medicine, 
Alameda Health Center

Other Affiliations

  • Former UCSF consultation psychiatry faculty member
  • Former California School of Professional Psychology faculty member

Publications, Talks, 
Courses Taught
(partial list)

I've given grand rounds at Stanford University, Alameda Health Center, Kaiser-Permanente and elsewhere. I've spoken on various topics, including: health coaching; mindfulness; self management support; treating depression, anxiety, PTSD, alcoholism, cannabis and prescription drug abuse; motivational interviewing & stages of change.

RECENT TALKS
Integrative Addiction Medicine: What is it? What is the Evidence? ASAM national meeting workshop, 2017; CSAM State of the Art In Addiction Medicine Conference, plenary speaker, 2015

Behavioral Treatments: Engaging Patients from Diagnosis to Treatment, CSAM Review Course, 2016 & 2017

Integrating Empathy in Hospitalist Medicine Practice, Eden Hospital, 2015

Behavioral Health and Patient Engagement in Chronic Pain Primary Care Treatment, Calif Healthcare Foundation, 2015 

Mindfulness, Dept of Medicine, Alameda Health System 2015

Training on Substance Use Disorders
Partnership Health Plan, 2015

Motivational Interviewing and Stages of Change, CSAM Addiction Medicine Review Course, 2014

Self Management Support: Helping Patients Help Themselves, CSAM State of the Art In Addiction Medicine Conference, plenary speaker, 2013

PUBLICATIONS (partial list)
Abramowitz S. Mindfulness. In: ASAM, editor. Chronic Pain and Addiction. Oxford University Press: to be published 2016.

Abramowitz S. Integrative Addiction Medicine: What Exactly Is It? San Francisco Medicine: Addiction Medicine 2015 July/August

Poster: Sladek J, Flattery D, Abramowitz S. Web Based Motivational Interviewing Training to Improve Residents' Confidence in Counseling Obese Patients About Weight LossSociety of General Internal Medicine Regional Meeting, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Jan 2013

Bodenheimer T, Abramowitz S, Helping Patients Help Themselves: How to Implement Self-Management Support, California Healthcare Foundation, 2010. . 

Poster: White N, Abramowitz S. Premed Health Coaching: Promising Impact on the Primary Care Pipeline? How Teaming Premeds with Primary Care Residents to Care for the Underserved Influences the Premeds’ Future Health Career Vision American College of Physicians regional meeting, San Francisco, 2010

Abramowitz SA, Flattery D, Franses K, Berry L. Linking a motivational interviewing curriculum to the chronic care model. J Gen Intern Med. 2010 Sep;25 Suppl 4:S620-6.

Cohen, J., Abramowitz, S. Psychodynamics of AIDS: A View from Self Psychology. chapter in Therapists on the Front Line, 1994.

COURSES & WORKSHOPS
Faculty- Safe Prescribing Residency Action Group: Chronic Pain & Opioid Misuse, Calif Healthcare Foundation

Motivational Interviewing and Self-Management Support, Calif Society of Addiction Medicine, Alameda Health System, Contra Costa County Hospital, USC School of Medicine and other organizations

Health Effects of Violence, Society of General Internal Medicine

Women's Psychology, Calif School of Professional Psychology 

Self Psychology, Calif School of Professional Psychology