B.D. (Brian) Ostafin, Dr

Short Biography

Dr. Brian Ostafin began his education with a bachelor’s degree in religious studies (focus on psychology of religion) from the University of North Dakota. He continued his studies in religion (focus on psychology of religion) at Harvard University in a master’s degree program. During this time he took several courses in the psychology department and worked in the lab of Prof. Jordan Peterson. He made the decision to pursue clinical psychology and spent a year gaining research experience and theoretical knowledge on the topic of emotion and neuroscience in the laboratory of Prof. Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin. He then returned to Boston to enter a doctoral program in clinical psychology at Boston University, where he conducted his research under the supervision of Prof. Tibor Palfai and trained in cognitive behavior therapy at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders and psychodynamic and existential therapy at the Danielsen Institute.

He then completed a year-long clinical residency at the University of Washington Psychiatry Department and then Dr. Ostafin obtained a grant-funded postdoctoral position on the topic of implicit cognition in addiction, under the supervision of Prof. Alan Marlatt and Prof. Tony Greenwald.

Dr. Ostafin’s first academic position was in the psychology department at North Dakota State University, where he worked from 2006-2011. In 2012, he started working in the Clinical Psychology unit of the Department of Psychology and in the Experimental Psychopathology research group of the Heymans Institute for Psychological Research.

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (2004); Concentration: Clinical Psychology; Boston University, Boston, MA, USA; Dissertation: Affective learning and alcohol consumption: Correlates of risk and causes of change; Committee: Tibor Palfai (supervisor), David Barlow, Stefan Hofmann, David Sommers

• Master of Arts, Psychology (1998); Boston University, Boston MA, USA

• Master of Theological Studies (1996); Concentration: Comparative religion with a focus on psychology of religion; Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

• Bachelor of Arts, Religious Studies (1992); University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, USA

Positions

• University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands (2012-present); Department of Psychology; Associate professor with ius promovendi

• North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND USA (2006-2011); Department of Psychology; Assistant professor

• University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA (2004-2006); Addictive Behaviors Research Center; Postdoctoral research fellow