FEAR LaB Florida Exposure and Anxiety Research (FEAR)
The principal investigators of the FEAR Lab are Joe McNamara, PhD and Andrea Guastello, PhD. Dr. McNamara is also the co-director of the UF Health OCD Program, a clinical program that offers intensive and weekly cognitive-behavioral therapy with exposure and response prevention for patients with OCD and anxiety disorders. Many of our studies recruit participants from this real-world clinical program and tracks outcomes as they occur to provide ecologically valid research with immediate implications for improving the assessment and treatment of individuals with OCD and anxiety disorders.
Mission
The missions of the Florida Exposure and Anxiety Research (FEAR) Lab are:
- To enhance our understanding of factors that impact treatment outcome during cognitive-behavioral therapy for children and adults with OCD, anxiety, and related disorders
- To improve our understanding of what contributes to different presentations of individuals with OCD, anxiety, and related disorders
- To educate the next generation of scientists and clinicians in psychology, medicine, and other health-related fields in research that contributes to evidence-based practice
People
Director
Joseph McNamara, PhD
Dr. McNamara is a licensed psychologist and director of the UF Exposure and Anxiety Research Lab. He conducts clinical research that focuses on factors related to improving treatment outcomes for patients with OCD and related disorders. He has been the research mentor for 10 graduate students and has clinically supervised 120 graduate students, interns, and postdoctoral fellows, as well as 60 psychiatry residents.
Co-Director
Andrea Guastello, PhD
Dr. Guastello is a licensed psychologist and co-director of the UF Florida Exposure and Anxiety Research Lab. In her role as a clinical faculty member, she provides clinical supervision to psychology and psychiatry trainees as well as research mentorship to graduate students with areas of specialty in Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders and Parent Child Interaction Therapy.
Current Graduate Student
Tannaz Mirhosseini, MS
Tannaz is a graduate student in the 2020 cohort of UF’s Department of Clinical and Health Psychology Doctoral Program in the Child/Pediatric Psychology area of concentration. Her research interests include the effects of parenting and emotion regulation on OCD and anxiety treatment outcome. As well as the effects of self-stigma and internalizing symptoms on quality of life.
Current Graduate Student
Becca Greenberg, BA
Becca is a graduate student in the 2024 cohort of UF’s Department of Clinical and Health Psychology Doctoral Program in the Child/Pediatric Psychology area of concentration. Her current research interests include examining the efficacy of OCD and anxiety-related treatments for children and teens, factors impacting treatment outcomes and response, as well as understanding how differences in therapeutic experiences and relationships impact treatment outcomes.
Current Graduate Student
Alexa Valko, BS
Alexa is a graduate student in the 2024 cohort of UF’s Department of Clinical and Health Psychology Doctoral Program in the Child/Pediatric Psychology area of concentration. Alexa is interested in improving evidence-based treatments of OCD and anxiety disorders through investigation of the factors that impact treatment adherence and response, with a focus on family accommodation effects.
Students on Internship
Seth Downing, MS
Seth’s research interests include investigating factors that impact treatment outcome and increasing utilization of evidence-based treatments for anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. He is also interested in understanding patients’, clinicians’, and family members’ perspectives on these disorders and the treatment they receive.
Ryan McCarty, MS
Ryan is interested in understanding the role social factors, such as stigma, have in OCD and anxiety disorders. Ryan is also interested in identifying methods to augment exposure and response prevention to improve treatment adherence and treatment response.
What we Do
Recent Publications
A number of our current and previous lab members have published papers while working in the lab.
IOCDF
Every year our team attends the International Obsessive Compulsive Foundation conference.
Current Projects
We have several ongoing projects from summer camps to studies and focus groups. Learn more about the projects we're working on here.
Contact US
Please feel free to contact any of the graduate students about getting involved with our lab or participating in our studies:
- Alexa Valko avalko@ufl.edu
- Becca Greenberg r.greenberg1@ufl.edu
Treatment
UF OCD Program
We treat adults, adolescents and children with OCD, Tourette Syndrome (TS), hoarding disorders, anxiety disorders and other related disorders in our Gainesville, Florida location. Being located in the heart of a major medical center, we can also perform comprehensive diagnostic tests as appropriate
Center for OCD, Anxiety, & Related Disorders (COARD)
We treat adults, adolescents and children with OCD, Tourette Syndrome (TS), hoarding disorders, body dysmorphic disorders, hair pulling & skin picking disorders, and anxiety disorders in our Gainesville, Florida location. Located in the heart of a major medical center, we collaborate across discipline to provide the best care possible.
UF Health Psychology - Springhill II
The OCD Program at UF Health Psychology offers intensive outpatient and weekly CBT treatments with pharmacological treatment coordinated as needed. Over an average of three weeks, patients meet with their designated therapists and receive assignments that encourage therapeutic exercises. The care team continues to work with the children and families even after the program ends by collaborating with other health care providers and caretakers.