
About
Dr. Robert Selles is a Registered Psychologist in the province of British Columbia (#2352). Dr. Selles sees clients virtually and offers in-office services at 999 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC.
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As a settler in the city of Vancouver, Dr. Selles acknowledges that he occupies traditional and unceded lands of the xÊ·mÉ™θkÊ·É™yÌ“É™m (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sÉ™lilwÉ™taɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.
Knowledge & Expertise
Compassion & Connection
Dr. Selles received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of South Florida, completed residency at Brown University, and a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of British Columbia.
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Training and collaborating with leaders in the field and working across outpatient, intensive, and inpatient settings, Dr. Selles has extensive clinical experience in the assessment and treatment of psychological disorders and is an expert in the areas of OCD and anxiety disorders.
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Dr. Selles has published over 40 peer-reviewed scientific articles regarding these conditions, their impacts, and optimal approaches to treatment. These contributions have been cited over 1500x.
Dr. Selles values building collaborative relationships that help clients feel supported and empowered. Dr. Selles listens deeply without judgment and provides guidance for understanding challenges, identifying solutions, and building skills.
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Using scientifically supported approaches, Dr. Selles believes deeply in the strategies he provides in therapy and is passionate about tailoring his approach to fit the unique experiences, interests and challenges of each individual.
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Dr. Selles also thinks beyond illness and seeks to help people develop ways of living that enhance their quality of life. Personally, Dr. Selles values time with loved ones and is passionate about recreation, exploration, creative expression, and the environment.
In addition to this practice, Dr. Selles works as a Psychologist with the OCD Clinic at BC Children's Hospital, serves as a scientific advisory committee member for Anxiety Canada, and is a clinical instructor in the Psychiatry Department at the University of British Columbia. He also engages in environmental advocacy with the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and is a faculty member for the International OCD Foundation's Behavior Therapy Training Institute.
Recent Activities

Dr. Selles is a featured guest on Anxiety Canada's podcast Our Anxiety Stories. He speaks with them about how families can identify and respond to OCD, including recognizing common OCD symptoms in children, understanding when these behaviours become problematic, responding to reassurance-seeking, managing distress, and maintaining hope.​
Presentations and Public Advocacy:
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Training to UBC and SFU Psychology Graduate Students on Assessment and Treatment Approaches for OCD.
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Webinar on "Addressing Accurate Anxiety" for the Mental Health and Climate Change Alliance's Quarterly Knowledge Exchange.
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Co-Developer for Anxiety Canada's OCD: The Facts! Test your knowledge QUIZ
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Workshop on Sustainability for the Self and the Planet for the 2024 Leading Change Fellowship.
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Webinar on ACTing for the Planet for the CMHA BC Healthy Minds | Healthy Campuses Series.
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Scientific peer-reviewer for International OCD Foundation's 2024 research grant awards.
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Developer of a 3-part series on Coping with Eco-Anxiety for Anxiety Canada.
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Interviewee for a CBC News Story about eco-anxiety and coping with wildfires..
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Panel guest on parenting with anxiety and parenting anxious children with the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation and Anxiety Canada.
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Webinar on reducing family accommodation in pediatric OCD for the Anxiety & Depression Association of America.
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Publications:
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Co-Author: Exploring latent clusters in pediatric OCD based on symptoms, severity, age, gender, and comorbidity. 2024, European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
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Co-Author: Parent management training augmentation to address coercive and disruptive behavior in cognitive-behavioral therapy for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder. 2023, Child Psychiatry & Human Development.
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Lead Author: Challenges of insight assessment in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: Initial results and clinical considerations from a measure development study. 2023, Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders.
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Co-Author: Age-specific determinants of psychiatric outcomes after the first COVID-19 wave: Baseline findings from a Canadian online cohort study. 2023, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health.
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Co-Author: FAST CBT for Paediatric OCD: A multiple-baseline controlled pilot trial of parent training in exposure and response prevention delivered via telehealth. 2022, Frontiers in Psychiatry.
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Lead Author: Effects of treatment setting on outcomes of flexibly-dosed intensive cognitive behavioral therapy for pediatric OCD: A randomized controlled pilot trial. 2021, Frontiers in Psychiatry: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
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Co-Author: Comorbidities in obsessive-compulsive disorder across the lifespan: A systematic review & meta-analysis. 2021, Frontiers in Psychiatry.
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Lead Author: Family profiles in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder. 2020, Journal of Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders.
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Co-Author: Race and ethnicity in pediatric OCD: An exploratory study of a clinical North American sample. 2020, Annals of Clinical Psychiatry.
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Lead Author: Avoidance, insight, impairment recognition concordance, and cognitive behavioral therapy outcomes in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder. 2020, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry