Khalid Salaheldin, MD
Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Bio
Dr. Khalid Salaheldin is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine, specializing in early psychosis, schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, and interventional psychiatry. He serves as Assistant Medical Director of Stanford's INSPIRE Clinic and contributes to the advancement of INSPIRE 360, expanding comprehensive, coordinated, recovery-oriented care.
His clinical work spans outpatient early psychosis care, inpatient psychiatry, and interventional treatments, including electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). His approach is grounded in compassion, collaboration, and the belief that exceptional psychiatric care begins with understanding the person in front of the diagnosis. He integrates evidence-based treatments with attention to sleep, exercise, nutrition, mindfulness, psychotherapy, physical health, and meaningful relationships, emphasizing individualized care aligned with each patient's goals and values.
This commitment is also deeply personal. Through his experience supporting a relative affected by schizophrenia, Dr. Salaheldin brings a perspective informed by both clinical expertise and a personal understanding of the challenges faced by individuals and families navigating serious mental illness. This connection continues to shape his dedication to compassionate, family-centered care that preserves dignity, fosters hope, and recognizes the humanity beyond every diagnosis.
His academic interests include early psychosis interventions, precision psychiatry, neuromodulation, novel therapeutics, spirituality and mental health, global mental health, mental health policy, and physician well-being. He is particularly interested in translating advances in precision psychiatry and neuroscience into practical, personalized clinical interventions that improve outcomes and expand access to effective care. As a member of the EPICAL State Task Force, he contributes to expanding coordinated specialty care for early psychosis throughout California.
As the Department's Clinical Documentation and Billing/Coding Optimization Lead, Dr. Salaheldin is advancing innovative approaches that integrate documentation, coding education, and clinician well-being. His work aims to reduce administrative burden, meaningfully capture the complexity of clinical care, and give clinicians more time for patients, teaching, scholarship, and their own well-being.
Before joining Stanford, Dr. Salaheldin served as Academic Chief Resident at Northwell Health, where he helped develop an early psychosis consultation-liaison initiative supporting patients and families from their initial emergency department encounter through hospitalization and transition to outpatient care. This experience continues to inspire his commitment to expanding compassionate, coordinated mental health care locally and globally.
At the heart of his work is the belief that recovery extends beyond symptom reduction to restoring possibility, connection, purpose, and hope.
“True compassion means not only feeling another's pain, but also being moved to help relieve it.”
— Daniel Goleman
Clinical Focus
- Psychiatry
- Early Psychosis Interventions
- Schizophrenia
- Interventional Psychiatry
- Nutritional Psychiatry
- Novel Therapeutics
- Preventative Psychiatry/Medicine
Academic Appointments
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Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Administrative Appointments
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Assistant Medical Director, INSPIRE Clinic (2022 - Present)
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Clinical Documentation and Billing/Coding Optimization Lead, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (2025 - Present)
Honors & Awards
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Selected: Leadership Bootcamp Series for Junior Faculty, Stanford University School of Medicine OFDE (2025-2026)
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Excellence in Teaching Award, Stanford School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences (2025)
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Excellence in Teaching Award, Stanford School of Medicine, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences (2023)
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Academic Chief Resident, Northwell Health (2020-2021)
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Biology Scholars Program, UC Berkeley (2008-2009)
Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations
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Psychiatry Consultant, EPICAL- California State Taskforce for Early Psychosis Intervention (2024 - Present)
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Consultant, Muslim Mental Health Lab (2022 - Present)
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Affiliated Faculty, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute (2023 - Present)
Professional Education
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Board Certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Psychiatry (2021)
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Medical Education: St George's University School of Medicine Grenada West Indies (2017) NY West Indies
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ABPN Dipolmate, Board Certification, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Psychiatry (2021)
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Residency: Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell GME Program (2021) NY
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BA, University of California Berkeley, Public Health (2009)
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BA, University of California Santa Cruz (Transfer to UC Berkeley) (2007)
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HSDG, Lowell High School, San Francisco, CA (2005)
Community and International Work
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EPICAL State Taskforce for Early Psychosis Intervention
Topic
Early Psychosis Intervnention
Partnering Organization(s)
Stanford, UC Davis, UCSF, UC San Diego
Location
International
Ongoing Project
Yes
Opportunities for Student Involvement
No
Clinical Trials
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A Study to Assess Efficacy and Safety of Adjunctive KarXT in Subjects With Inadequately Controlled Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Not Recruiting
This is a Phase 3, 6-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, outpatient study in subjects with schizophrenia with an inadequate response to their current atypical antipsychotic treatment. The primary objective of the study is to assess the efficacy of adjunctive KarXT (a fixed dose combination of xanomeline and trospium chloride twice daily \[BID\]) versus placebo in the treatment of subjects with inadequately controlled symptoms of schizophrenia as measured by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) Total Score.
Stanford is currently not accepting patients for this trial.
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A Study to Assess the Effects of RO6889450 (Ralmitaront) in Participants With Schizophrenia or Schizoaffective Disorder and Negative Symptoms
Not Recruiting
This study investigates the effects of RO6889450 on the negative symptoms associated with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.
Stanford is currently not accepting patients for this trial.
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An Extension Study to Assess Long-Term Safety and Tolerability of Adjunctive KarXT in Subjects With Inadequately Controlled Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Not Recruiting
This is a Phase 3, multicenter, 52-week, outpatient, open-label extension (OLE) study to evaluate the long-term safety and tolerability of adjunctive KarXT in subjects with schizophrenia with an inadequate response to their current antipsychotic treatment who previously completed the treatment period (Visit 8/Day 42 ± 3) of ARISE Study (KAR-012). The primary objective of the study is to assess the long-term safety and tolerability of adjunctive KarXT (a fixed dose combination of xanomeline and trospium chloride twice daily \[BID\]) in subjects with schizophrenia.
Stanford is currently not accepting patients for this trial. For more information, please contact Virtheim, Daniel, Max, 650-723-3305.
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CONNEX-3: A Study to Test Whether Iclepertin Improves Learning and Memory in People With Schizophrenia
Not Recruiting
This study is open to adults with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia can affect the way a person thinks, their memory and their mental functioning. Examples include struggling to remember things, or to read a book or pay attention to a movie. Some people have difficulty calculating the right change or planning a trip so that they arrive on time. The purpose of this study is to find out whether a medicine called iclepertin improves learning and memory in people with schizophrenia. Participants are put into two groups randomly, which means by chance. One group takes iclepertin tablets and the other group takes placebo tablets. Placebo tablets look like iclepertin tablets but do not contain any medicine. Participants take a tablet once a day for 26 weeks. In addition, all participants take their normal medication for schizophrenia. During this time, doctors regularly test learning and memory of the participants by use of questionnaires, interviews, and computer tests. The results of the mental ability tests are compared between the groups. Participants are in the study for about 8 months and visit the study site about 14 times. During this time, doctors regularly check participants' health and take note of any unwanted effects.
Stanford is currently not accepting patients for this trial.
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Improving Cognition Via Exercise in Schizophrenia
Not Recruiting
People with schizophrenia display a broad range of cognitive impairments that have been identified as major determinants of poor functioning and disability. Also, people with schizophrenia are at increased risk for suicide, with approximately 40-50% of individuals attempting to take their own lives during their lifetime. The goal of the proposed study is to examine the impact of remote exercise training on cognition, suicide risk, daily functioning, and biomarkers of cognitive change and suicidality in people with schizophrenia.
Stanford is currently not accepting patients for this trial.
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Journey Study: Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Valbenazine as Adjunctive Treatment for Schizophrenia
Not Recruiting
The primary objective for this study is to evaluate the effect of adjunctive valbenazine versus placebo on symptoms of schizophrenia in participants who have inadequate response to antipsychotic treatment.
Stanford is currently not accepting patients for this trial.
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Study to Evaluate the Long-term Safety, Tolerability, and Durability of Treatment Effect of ALKS 3831
Not Recruiting
This study will evaluate the long-term safety, tolerability, and durability of treatment effect of ALKS 3831 in subjects with schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, or bipolar I disorder
Stanford is currently not accepting patients for this trial.
Projects
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The Genomics of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
IRB-54241
Location
stanford, ca
All Publications
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Pathways to Mental Health Care: The Role of Religion and Spirituality in Help Seeking for Psychosis.
Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.)
2026: appips20250629
Abstract
Numerous studies have emphasized the vital role of religion and spirituality in living with and receiving care for mental health challenges. To illuminate the diversity of religious and spiritual responses to psychosis, the authors conducted a narrative literature review with three religious worldviews to illustrate how religious and spiritual traditions can shape meaning making, help seeking, and coping among individuals experiencing first-episode psychosis. Christian, Muslim, and Indigenous American traditions differ widely in their explanatory models, the role of spiritual leaders in care pathways, and their degree of alignment with psychiatric systems. Rather than assuming a single model of care, the authors aimed to explore culturally informed, reciprocal approaches to support effective and respectful engagement (for individuals experiencing first-episode psychosis to whom religion is important) between the medical model and religious or spiritual care. The authors suggest that collaborative models between clinicians and religious or spiritual healers, rooted in humility and bidirectional learning, are essential for building trust and improving access to care. This work highlights the need for pluralistic and coconstructed approaches to early intervention that respect cultural frameworks rather than overwrite them.
View details for DOI 10.1176/appi.ps.20250629
View details for PubMedID 41922947
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Administering Electroconvulsive Therapy to Critically Ill Individuals: Risks, Monitoring, and Benefits.
The primary care companion for CNS disorders
2026; 28 (2)
Abstract
The Psychiatric Consultation Service at Massachusetts General Hospital sees medical and surgical inpatients with comorbid psychiatric symptoms and conditions. During their twice-weekly rounds, Dr Stern and other members of the Consultation Service discuss diagnosis and management of hospitalized patients with complex medical or surgical problems who also demonstrate psychiatric symptoms or conditions. These discussions have given rise to rounds reports that will prove useful for clinicians practicing at the interface of medicine and psychiatry. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord 2026;28(2):25f04072. Author affiliations are listed at the end of this article.
View details for DOI 10.4088/PCC.25f04072
View details for PubMedID 41801077
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I THINK MY PATIENT MAY BE EXPERIENCING PSYCHOSIS - NOW WHAT? HOW PROVIDERS CAN SUPPORT EARLY IDENTIFICATION AND INTERVENTION.
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC. 2022: S1
View details for Web of Science ID 000788118600003
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The relationship between prototype ratings of personality and self and interpersonal functioning with an adolescent inpatient sample
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY & PSYCHOTHERAPY
2021; 28 (2): 364-372
Abstract
Personality pathology is conceptualized, in part, as impairments in self and interpersonal functioning. Although most of the research has focused on adult samples, fewer have looked at this relationship in adolescent samples. This paper investigates the relationship between clinician-rated personality prototypes, the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-Prototype Matching Adolescent Version (SWAP-A-P) derived from the SWAP-II-A, and a measure of self and interpersonal functioning, the Social Cognition and Object Relation Scale-Global Rating (SCORS-G). Clinicians rated 66 adolescents hospitalized at a safety net teaching hospital in the northeast. The patient's individual and group therapist rated the patients at discharge using the SWAP-A-P and the SCORS-G at discharge blind to each other's ratings. Results showed that more severe personality pathology was linked with more impairments in self and interpersonal functioning.
View details for DOI 10.1002/cpp.2512
View details for Web of Science ID 000585999700001
View details for PubMedID 32881158
- Phobias 5MinuteConsult Wolters Kluwer. 2020