Bio

Keara E. Valentine, Psy.D., is a clinical assistant professor at Stanford University School of Medicine in the Psychosocial Treatment Clinic and OCD Clinic, where she specializes in the assessment and treatment of OCD and related disorders. Dr. Valentine utilizes behavioral-based therapies including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) with children, adolescents, and adults experiencing anxiety-related disorders.

Dr. Valentine completed an APA accredited pre-doctoral internship at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital, where she complete a rotation in OCD and anxiety disorders and a rotation in Eating Disorders. Dr. Valentine has experience working with individuals with OCD, anxiety, and/or eating disorders at various levels of care including outpatient, partial hospitalization, residential, and inpatient.

Clinical Focus

  • Clinical Psychology

Academic Appointments

  • Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Professional Education

  • Fellowship: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Stanford University Hospital (2021)
  • Internship: Amita Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital (2020) IL
  • PhD Training: University of Hartford Registrar (2020) CT

Contact

  • Academic
    University - Academic staff Department: Psych/General Psychiatry and Psychology (Adult) Position: Clinical Assistant Professor
  • Clinical Department of Psychiatry 401 Quarry Road Stanford, CA 94305 (650) 724-9900 (fax)

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 5717
  • Other Names:
    Keara Valentine

All Publications

  • Augmenting group hoarding disorder treatment with virtual reality discarding: A pilot study in older adults. Journal of psychiatric research Raila, H., Avanesyan, T., Valentine, K. E., Koo, B., Huang, C., Tsutsumi, Y., Andreeff, E., Qiu, T., Muñoz Rodríguez, P. A., Varias, A., Filippou-Frye, M., van Roessel, P., Bullock, K., Periyakoil, V. S., Rodríguez, C. I. 2023; 166: 25-31

    Abstract

    Hoarding disorder is common and debilitating, especially in older adults, and novel treatment approaches are needed. Many current treatments emphasize skills related to discarding and decision-making about possessions, which can be practiced in the patient's home. However in many cases, in-home visits are unfeasible, or real-life discarding is too difficult. Virtual reality (VR) offers the ability to create a virtual "home" including 3D scans of the patient's actual possessions that can be moved or discarded. VR discarding is an alternative to in-home visits and an approach that provides a stepping stone to real-life discarding. VR has been successfully utilized to treat many disorders but tested minimally in hoarding disorder. In nine older adults with hoarding disorder, we tested an 8-week VR intervention administered to augment a 16-week Buried in Treasures group treatment. Individualized VR rooms were uniquely modeled after each patient's home. During clinician-administered VR sessions, patients practiced sorting and discarding their virtual possessions. The intervention was feasible to administer. Open-ended participant responses, examined by two independent evaluators, indicated that VR sessions were well-tolerated and that participants found them useful, with nearly all participants noting that VR helped them increase real-life discarding. Self-reported hoarding symptoms decreased from baseline to close, with seven of the nine participants showing reliable improvement in this timeframe and none showing deterioration. Results from this exploratory pilot study suggest that VR is a feasible way to simulate an at-home sorting and discarding experience in a manner that may augment skills acquisition. It remains an open question whether VR discarding practice yields greater improvement than existing treatments. VR for this population merits further clinical investigation.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.08.002

    View details for PubMedID 37716272

  • Efficacy of Ketamine in Unmedicated Adults With OCD: A Randomized Controlled Trial Rodriguez, C., Chen, C., Glover, G., Jo, B., Spielman, D., Williams, L., van Roessel, P., DeBattista, C., Wintermark, M., Lombardi, A., Pinto, A., Valentine, K., Filippou-Frye, M., Hawkins, J., McCarthy, E., Mukunda, P., Varias, A., Wilson, J., Wright, B. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2023: S83

    View details for Web of Science ID 000993018500200

  • Efficacy of Ketamine in Unmedicated Adults With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial Rodriguez, C., Chen, C., Glover, G., Jo, B., Spielman, D., Williams, L., Van Roessel, P., DeBattista, C., Flood, P., Ringold, A., Wintermark, M., Anderson, K., Linkovski, O., Lombardi, A., Millen, A., Pinto, A., Raila, H., Valentine, K., Filippou-Frye, M., Hawkins, J., McCarthy, E., Mukunda, P., Varias, A., Wilson, J., Wright, B. SPRINGERNATURE. 2022: 302-303

    View details for Web of Science ID 000929613800574