Dr. Narcis Valen, Ph.D.
License #PSB94028352 (California) / PSY.0006695 (Colorado)
PTSD/Trauma • Empowerment/Resiliency • LGBTQIA+ • Anxiety • Depression
Life can be painful, but therapy doesn’t have to be. I specialize in helping clients overcome painful past experiences and build sources of resiliency, flexibility, and self-esteem so that they can live the lives they want to live. I focus on client strengths as well as areas of challenge to bring positivity, warmth, and a compassionate push for the change you want to achieve.
My treatment style is holistic, science-informed, and sensitive to clients' unique backgrounds, identities, and healthcare needs. I am deeply committed to empowering the people I work with, especially those who have experiences of marginalization, discrimination, and feeling unseen.
My approach is centered on you and using my therapeutic skillset to help you achieve your goals— whether these are healing from trauma, overcoming depression or anxiety, building self-confidence, developing positive and fulfilling relationships, or just improving self-care and life balance.
For those who wish to focus on issues related to aging, I also work with a geropsychology specialist, Dr. Blanken.
Education
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, University of Southern California
Psychology Internship, GMH/PTSD Track, Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System
Professional Practice
PTSD Clinical Team (PCT) Psychologist, Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System
RESEARCH
As a former neuroscientist who spent over a decade working in developmental and biobehavioral research, I have a deep appreciation for science’s potential to improve our lives and well-being. My research centered around understanding links between adversity and health to better serve individuals with experiences of trauma and those facing challenging life events. I was among the first ever team of researchers to conduct fetal neuroimaging to examine in-utero brain development in healthy and at-risk pregnancies using fMRI. In my research career, I studied the impact of trauma and adversity on the brain and behavioral development of adolescents in Detroit, MI; investigated the impacts of THC on symptoms of PTSD; and examined how mens’ brains change as they transition to fatherhood for the first time.
I believe that knowledge is a path to empowerment, and I am passionate about improving scientific literacy and psychological education. I am a strong advocate for bringing transparency to treatment and demystifying healthcare to ensure every individual feels informed about their health and empowered to make the decisions that are right for them.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
MANUSCRIPTS
• Cardenas, S., Morris, A., Valen, N.A. (publishing as Marshall, N.A.), Aviv, E., Martínez-García, M., Sellery, P., Saxbe, D. (2022). Fathers matter from the start: The role of expectant fathers in child development. Child Development Perspectives, 16(1), 54-59. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12436
• Valen, N.A. (publishing as Marshall, N.A.), Kaplan, J., Stoycos, S., Goldenberg, D., Khoddam H., Cárdenas S., Sellery, P., & Saxbe, D.E. (2021) Stronger Mentalizing Network Connectivity in Expectant Fathers Predicts Postpartum Father-Infant Attachment and Parenting Behavior. Social Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2022.2029559
• Khoddam, H., Goldenberg, D., Stoycos, S., Horton,K., Valen, N.A. (publishing as Marshall, N.A.), …& Saxbe, D.E. (2020). How do expectant fathers respond to infant cry? Examining brain and behavioral responses and the moderating role of testosterone. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 15(4), 437-446. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsaa051
• Valen, N.A. (publishing as Marshall, N.A.), Marusak H., Hatfield J., Peters C., Sala-Hamrick K., Crespo L., Rabinak C., Thomason M. (2018). Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Altered Corticostriatal Circuitry in Urban Youth. Human Brain Mapping, 39(5), 1982-1994. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.23978
• Thomason, M., Hect, J. L., Van den Heuvel, M. I., Valen, N.A. (publishing as Marshall, N.A.), Waller, R., Turk, E., ... & Hassan, S. (2017). 737. High Stress in Pregnant Mothers is Associated with Reduced Global Brain Efficiency in the Fetus. Biological Psychiatry, 81(10), S298-S299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.02.804
• Thomason, M.E., Scheinost, D., Manning, J.H., Grove, L.E., Hect, J., Valen, N. (publishing as Marshall, N.), Hernandez-Andrade, E., Berman, S., Pappas, A., Yeo, L., Hassan, S.S., Constable, R.T., Ment, L.R., Romero, R. (2017). Weak functional connectivity in the human fetal brain prior to preterm birth. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 1-10.
BOOK CHAPTERS
Goldenberg, D., Valen, N.A. (publishing as Marshall, N.A.), Cardenas, S. & Saxbe, D.E. (2020) The Development of the Social Brain within a Family Context. In Decety, J. (Ed). Social Brain/Mind: A Developmental Perspective. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
