Justin Feinstein PhD

Justin Feinstein is the Director of the Float Clinic & Research Center (FCRC) at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR). Dr. Feinstein is an expert in the neuroscience of fear who is trailblazing a new path forward for the treatment of anxiety. Utilizing both the lesion method and functional neuroimaging, his research has revealed important clues about the role of the human amygdala and insula in the conscious experience of fear and anxiety. He has over 50 peer-reviewed publications in some of the top scientific journals and his research has been featured in the popular press including the New York Times, NPR, TIME magazine, and CBS National News.

His current work is focused on studying the intimate connection between the body & the brain and developing new technologies to help bring this connection to the forefront of awareness. As part of these efforts, his research has laid the foundation for novel therapies that can naturally alleviate stress and anxiety without the use of drugs including Floatation-REST (Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy) and the modulation of CO2 as a form of interoceptive exposure therapy. In 2021, Dr. Feinstein became President and Director of the Float Research Collective, a nonprofit organization that is playing a pivotal role in establishing Floatation-REST as an accepted medical treatment.

Dr. Feinstein received his Ph.D. in Clinical Neuropsychology from the University of Iowa and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the California Institute of Technology. He earned his undergraduate degree in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of California San Diego, where he later returned to complete his clinical internship at the San Diego VA hospital with a focus on the treatment of veterans with PTSD using prolonged exposure therapy. Dr. Feinstein is an adjunct professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Iowa. Between 2013 and 2020, he was also a professor at the Oxley College of Health Sciences at the University of Tulsa, as well as the founder and director of the Float Clinic & Research Center at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research where he spearheaded the first studies to show how floating could rapidly and reliably ease the suffering in patients with anxiety and stress-related disorders.