Susan Holtzman
Dr. Holtzman is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Health Psychology Laboratory at the University of British Columbia – Okanagan. Dr. Holtzman received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. She completed a clinical internship at the University of Washington School of Medicine and a post-doctoral research fellowship at the University Health Network, University of Toronto.
Dr. Holtzman’s research investigates the ways in which psychosocial factors can influence emotional and physical adjustment to chronic health conditions. She is particularly interested in how close relationships can help or hinder patients’ efforts to cope with their disease, and how chronic illness can impact the family. Dr. Holtzman uses longitudinal and daily process methods (which involve intensive daily monitoring of study variables) to better understand the connection between stress, mood, and health over time.
Dr. Holtzman takes an interdisciplinary approach to her research and has active collaborations with experts in the fields of nursing, psychiatry, social work, anesthesiology, surgery, and internal medicine. Her research has been supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, the Ontario Women’s Health Scholars Program, and the National Institutes of Health.
Current Projects
1) Coping with Chronic Pain. This is a large dataset that examines adults living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their significant others. Participants took part in an initial background interview (assessing personality and demographics) and twice daily telephone interviews for one week (assessing pain, mood, stress, and social interactions). The goal of this study is to identify the key pathways through which social relationships can influence health in patients with RA. This study also investigates the dynamic ways in which patient functioning can impact the well-being of significant others, and vice versa.
2) Navigating the Road to Organ Transplantation. Data collection is nearing completion in this longitudinal study of heart and lung transplant patients and their family caregivers. Participants completed questionnaire batteries assessing stress, coping, support, depression, and feelings of burden at the time of being waitlisted for transplantation, at 3-months follow-up, and again 3-months post-transplantation. The goal of this study is to identify psychosocial factors that lead to optimal transplant outcomes for patients and their caregivers, and to identify needs for support in this population.
3) Quality of Life among Living Liver Donors. In collaboration with the University Health Network Liver Donor Program in Toronto, this is an NIH-funded study aimed at better understanding the impact of live liver donation on donor quality of life. This study will follow a large cohort of patients from the time they decide to donate part of their liver (typically to a family member) until several years post-donation.
How to Get Involved
Dr. Holtzman will be accepting graduate students for 2010/11. Opportunities also exist for directed studies, honours projects, and volunteering. If you are interested in getting involved with any of the above projects, or would like to speak with Dr. Holtzman about upcoming projects in the lab, please contact her at susan.holtzman@ubc.ca or 250.807.8730.
Representative Publications
DeLongis, A. Holtzman, S., Puterman, E., & Lam, M. (forthcoming). Social support,
social strain, and negative affect among couples. In K. Sullivan and J. Davila
(Eds.). Support processes in intimate relationships. Oxford Press.
Holtzman, S., Adcock, L., Dubay, D., Therapondos, G., Kashfi, A., Greenwood, S.,
Renner, E., Grant, D., Levy, G., Abbey, S. (in press). The financial, vocational,
and interpersonal impact of liver donation. Liver Transplantation.
Dubay, D.A.,* Holtzman, S.,* Adcock, L., Abbey, S., Greenwood, S., Macleod, C.,
Kashfi, A., Jacob, M., Renner, E.L., Grant, D.R., Levy, G.A. Therapondos, G.
(2009). Adult right lobe living liver donors: Quality of life, attitudes, and
predictors of donor outcomes. American Journal of Transplantation, 9, 1169-1178.
[*Both authors contributed equally to first authorship]
Holtzman, S. & DeLongis, A. (2007). One day at a time: The role of daily spouse
support in pain severity, negative affect and catastrophizing among individuals
with rheumatoid arthritis. Pain, 131, 202-213.
Marin, T., Holtzman, S., DeLongis, A., & Robinson, L. (2007). Coping and the
response of others. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 24, 951-969.
Turner, J.A., Holtzman, S., Mancl, L. (2007). Mediators, moderators, and
predictors of therapeutic change in cognitive-behavioural therapy for
chronic pain. Pain, 127, 276-86.
DeLongis, A. & Holtzman, S. (2005). Coping in context: The role of stress,
social support, and personality in coping. Journal of Personality (special
issue on Personality and Daily Experience), 73, 1633-1656.
Holtzman, S., Newth, S., & DeLongis, A. (2004). The role of social support
in coping with daily pain among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Journal
of Health Psychology, 9, 677-695.
DeLongis, A., Capreol, M., Holtzman, S., O’Brien, T., & Campbell, J. (2004). Social
support and social strain among husbands and wives in stepfamilies: A multilevel
analysis. Journal of Family Psychology, 18, 470-479.
Last reviewed 
3/30/2010 5:22:25 PM
