David P. Valentiner

David P. Valentiner is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Northern Illinois University (NIU) and Director of the NIU Anxiety Disorders Research Lab. Board Certified in Clinical Psychology (ABPP) and licensed as a Clinical Psychologist, he focuses on cognitive and emotional mechanisms underlying anxiety disorders and their treatment, particularly during natural recovery and exposure therapy.

• Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Texas (1994)

His research explores mechanisms of change in anxiety therapies, fear reduction processes, and the development of early interventions for social anxiety. Current projects include interventions for college freshmen and studies on brain regions like the anterior cingulate cortex in anxiety etiology.

The lab investigates topics such as safety behaviors in test anxiety, self-verification in social anxiety, and terror management theory in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Publications span journals like Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Psychological Assessment.