Heather Poupore-King

Bio

Dr King is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Pain Medicine and also serves as the Director of the Pain Psychology Fellowship.

Dr. King’s areas of expertise are in evidence-based therapies including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). She is also board certified in Biofeedback (BCB) by the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance (BCIA). Dr. King has a strong interest in providing interdisciplinary care and specializes in comprehensive functional rehabilitation for chronic pain patients. She has also developed and is testing integrated protocols for co-occurring chronic pain and insomnia. She provides comprehensive pain evaluations, individual and group treatments, education for both patients and providers, and program development.

Dr King presents at national and international conferences to facilitate knowledge of effective behavioral treatment options for chronic pain patients. Her research focus includes serving as a master CBT trainer for serval NIH grants and is the Director of Behavioral Services for Northern California for the EMPOWER study.

Dr. King works with patients to help them regain control of their lives by teaching effective, self-directed coping strategies focused on restoring function and increasing time in valued activities with the ultimate goal of improving one’s quality of life.

Clinical Focus

• Pain Psychology
• Biofeedback
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for pain
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
• Functional Rehabilitation
• Psychology

Academic Appointments

• Clinical Associate Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine

Administrative Appointments

• Director of Pain Psychology Fellowship, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (2017 - Present)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

• President, American Association of Pain Psychology (2016 - 2017)

Professional Education

• Fellowship: Kaiser Permanente Pain Management Training (2009) CA
• PhD Training: Alliant International University (2008) CA
• Board Certification: Biofeedback Certification International Alliance, Biofeedback (2009)
• Internship: Jesse Brown VA Medical Center Psychology Internship (2008) IL
• Professional Education: Alliant International University (2008) CA

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

11/01/17 – 10/30/2022
Role: Co-Investigator (0.10 FTE) and Director of Treatments for the Bay Area (Stanford Pain and Primary Care clinics)
PCORI (Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute). Title: “Comparative Effectiveness of Pain Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Chronic Pain Self-Management Within the Context of Opioid Reduction.” Total: $8.8M PI: Beth Darnall

2017- present
Dr. King is also collaborating with Fiona Barwick, PhD, at Stanford’s Sleep Medicine Center, to develop an integrated treatment protocol for improving sleep and chronic pain. With the protocol now complete, Dr. Barwick and Dr. King plan to run the six-session group throughout 2019, collecting pre-treatment, post-treatment and follow-up data to analyze outcomes.

2015-present
Role: Lead Therapist, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy manualized intervention
National Institutes of Health P01 AT006651 National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health Title: Stanford Center for Back Pain
PI: Sean Mackey, MD, PhD

2015 -present
Lead Therapist, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy manualized intervention
National Institutes of Health R01AT008561 National Center for Complementary and
Integrative Health Title: Single Session Pain Catastrophizing Treatment: Comparative
Efficacy & Mechanisms Multi-PI: Darnall BD & Mackey SC