Joseph Glass, PhD, MSW, is an associate investigator at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI). Before joining KPWHRI in July 2016, he was an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Social Work.
Dr. Glass’s research seeks to identify how effective health care interventions for unhealthy alcohol and drug use can reach more people. Much of his work aims to develop, test, and implement modern models of care that proactively deliver evidence-based treatments within health care settings and that intensively refer patients to specialty care while considering social determinants of health.
Dr. Glass’s work is informed by his practical experience in the field. After receiving a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan, Dr. Glass was a psychiatric social worker at the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System. There he developed expertise in social work case management and evidence-based treatments for anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders.
He completed a 5-year career development award funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in 2021, which allowed him to obtain intensive training in clinical trials and implementation science. Currently, he has 2 active randomized controlled trials.
Dr. Glass also co-leads a 2-year study funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to validate and improve approaches for monitoring the quality of care for alcohol use disorder. He also enjoys serving as a co-investigator and consultant, providing expertise and support to studies led by his colleagues.
Dr. Glass is an affiliate associate professor of health systems and population health, and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, at the University of Washington.
Unhealthy alcohol and drug use
Access and treatment-seeking patterns
Smartphone and web-based interventions in health care
Prevention and treatment
The SPARC trial successfully implemented behavioral health care into primary care. On our website, you can access tools for behavioral health integration, as well as frequently asked questions and publications.
Powell BJ, Proctor EK, Glass JE. A systematic review of strategies for implementing empirically supported mental health interventions. Res Soc Work Pract. 2014 Mar 1;24(2):192-212. PubMed
Glass JE, Mowbray OP, Link BG, Kristjansson SD, Bucholz KK. Alcohol stigma and persistence of alcohol and other psychiatric disorders: a modified labeling theory approach. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2013 Dec 1;133(2):685-92. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2013.08.016. Epub 2013 Sep 2. PubMed
Ilgen MA, Glass JE. Brief motivational interventions to change problematic substance use. In MG Vaughn and BE Perron, (Eds). Social work practice in the addictions. New York: Springer
Glass JE, Kristjansson SD, Bucholz KK. Perceived alcohol stigma: factor structure and construct validation. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2013 Jan;37 Suppl 1:E237-46. doi: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2012.01887.x. Epub 2012 Jul 3. PubMed
Burnett-Zeigler IE, Pfeiffer P, Zivin K, Glass JE, Ilgen MA, Flynn HA, Austin K, Chermack ST. Psychotherapy utilization for acute depression within the Veterans Affairs healthcare system. Psychol Serv. 2012 Nov;9(4):325-35. doi: 10.1037/a0027957. Epub 2012 May 7. PubMed
Joe Glass explores how to engage patients with treatment for alcohol or drug use.
A trial led by KPWHRI researchers found that adding nurse care managers helped more people get needed treatment.
A new primary care approach improves alcohol-related preventive care as well as care for alcohol use disorder.