Kate Roberts

Kate Roberts is a licensed clinical social worker who holds experience working in community mental health and harm reduction. Kate has worked to create behavioral health interventions to decrease pain-catastrophizing behaviors among those at risk for developing opioid use disorder. Currently, Kate works at the UNC Substance Treatment and Addiction Recovery (STAR) program. She works directly with patients living with opioid addiction. She seeks to engage persons through a harm reduction framework and engages in programmatic development of supportive services for those living with opioid use disorder. 

Kate received her MSW from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Before receiving her MSW, she earned her M.A. from Duke University, studying the history of race, gender, and medical ethics in American religious contexts.

Kate's research interests lie at the intersection of opioid addiction and labor equity as it pertains to those living with and at risk of developing opioid use disorder in rural communities. She seeks to understand how economic and social upheaval function as a driver of opioid-related misuse and abuse. She aims to apply this understand to conceptualize harm reduction strategies related to opioids.

Research and Scholarly Interests

Opioid Addiction, harm reduction, rural health, economic drivers of addiction, telemedicine in addressing health disparities, application of critical, historical, and feminist theories in community-based interventions and policy practices