Researchers' Profiles

Thomas Freese, Ph.D.

Thomas Freese, Ph.D.

ISAP Director

Thomas E. Freese (Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, California School of Professional Psychology, 1995) is currently Director of the UCLA Integrated Substance Use and Addiction Programs (ISAP). Additionally, he serves as Director of Training and Dissemination for the Division of Addiction Psychiatry in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Co-Director of the SAMHSA-funded Pacific Southwest (HHS Region 9) Addictions Technology Transfer Center (PSATTC), and Co-PI of the Training and Dissemination contract with DHCS for the Recovery Incentives Program: California's Contingency Management Benefit. Dr. Freese conducts evidence-based trainings on a wide variety of topics including addressing the stimulant and opioid epidemics, the intersection of HIV, homelessness, and substance use, implementing integrated treatment, and implementing evidence-based treatment practices. He has been a featured presenter at conferences and meetings across the US and internationally. tfreese@mednet.ucla.edu.

  • Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA, B.A., Psychology, 1987
  • California School of Prof. Psychology, Los Angeles, CA, Ph.D., Clinical Pschology, 1995
  • Contingency Management
  • Training/Technology Transfer
  • Methamphetamine
  • Adolescence
  • Behavioral Treatments
  • Treatment consideration for underserved populations
  1. Chaple, M. J., Becker, S., Freese, T. E., Hartzler, B., Martin, R., Molfenter, T., & Rutkowski, B. A. (2026). If you build it, they will stay! Sustaining evidence-based practices for the treatment of substance use disorders through investment in workforce development. Frontiers in Public Health, 14, 1939991. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1939991.
  2. Armenta-Belen, K., Rey, L-D., Severns, J., Dickerson, D., Hedrick, V., Miele, G., Bhakta, M., Rutkowski, B., Freese, T., & The Guiding Coalition of Traditional Healers and Knowledge Keepers. (2026). Cultural Guideposts of Health: A crisis response evaluation framework for California's diverse Indigenous communities. Journal of Public Health Research, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/22799036251410263.
  3. Knudsen, H. K., Gotham, H. J., Solinger, E., Swan, E., Brinker, J., Patel, S. V., Tueller, S. J., Bradshaw, M., Mungo, J., Philbrick, S., Donohoe, T., Freese, T. E., Rutkowski, B. A., Roosa, M., Speck, K. J., & Garner, B. (2025). Dissemination of an evidence-based motivational interviewing brief intervention for substance use disorders to HIV service organizations across the United States: protocol for a national-level cluster-randomized adaptive parallel-groups superiority experiment. Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 20(85). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13722-025-00612-8.
  4. Mendoza, N. S., Santana, M., Tekle, W., Shafer, M. S., Mommaerts, K., Freese, T. E., & Rutkowski, B. A. (2025). Enhancing support for student well-being: Substance use resources and policy approaches in community colleges. Journal of American College Health, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2025.2519373.
  5. Urada, D., Padwa, H., Antonini, V. Tsoi, C., Gregorio, L., Freese, T., Rutkowski, B., Rawson, R., Lee, A. N., Bass, B., Khurana, D., Loya, C., Cooper, M., Gilbert, M., & Zakher, E. (2025). Evaluation of the recovery incentives program: California's contingency management benefit. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 267(S). https://doi.org/j.drugalcdep.2024.112298.
  6. Freese, T. E., Rutkowski, B. A., Peck, J. A., Padwa, H., Thompson, C., Datrice, A., Simmons, J., Cooper, M., Loya, C., Trupiano, D., & Rawson, R. A. (2024). California's Recovery Incentives Program: Implementation strategies. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, 167, 209513. https://doi.org/j.josat.2024.209513.
  7. Pusnik, A., Hartzler, B., Vjorn, O., Rutkowski, B. A., Chaple, M., Becker, S., Freese, T., Nichols, M., & Molfenter, T. (2024). Comparison of use rates of telehealth services for substance use disorder during and following COVID-19 safety distancing recommendations: Two cross-sectional surveys. JMIR Mental Health, 11, e52363. https://doi.org/10.2196/52363.
  8. Freese, T. E., Rutkowski, B. A., Peck, J. A., Urada, D., Clark, H. W., Nigusse Bland, A., Friedman, J., & Rawson, R. A. (2023). Recovery incentives program: California's contingency management benefit. Preventive Medicine, 176, 107703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107703.
  9. Shafer, M. S., Oh, H., Sturtevant, H., Freese, T., & Rutkowski, B. (2023). Patterns and predictors of sustained training and technical assistance engagement amoung addiction treatment and affiliated providers. Journal of Behavorial Health Services and Research. https://doi.org/10/1007/s11414-023-09854-3.
  10. Tomás-Rosselló, J., Rawson, R.A., Zarza, M.J., Bellows, A., Busse, A., Saenz, E., Freese, T.E. Shawkey, M., Carise, D., Ali, R., & Ling, W. (2010). United National Office on Drugs and Crime International Network on Drug Dependence Treatment and Rehabilitation, Treatnet. Substance Abuse, 31, 251-263.
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