Dr. Kathleen S. Pierce began her academic studies at the University of Oregon, earning a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and Secondary Education in 1980. She pursued advanced clinical training at the California School of Professional Psychology in Alameda, earning a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology in 1997 and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology with a Health Psychology specialization in 2000. Her clinical training included a pre-doctoral internship at Kaiser Permanente in South San Francisco and an APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship at the National Center for PTSD, Pacific Islands Division in Honolulu, where she subsequently completed a Post-Doctoral Residency in 2001.

Following her clinical training, Dr. Pierce served as a Research Health Scientist at the National Center for PTSD in Honolulu from 2001 to 2003, investigating video telehealth applications and culturally congruent treatments for Asian and Pacific Islander veterans. In 2002, she established her private practice and professional consultation services—which she maintains today across Hawaii and California—providing therapy, assessments, and specialized supervision. From 2003 to 2006, she served as a Clinical Psychologist and the Program Director for Malama Recovery Services at the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center in Hawaii.

After obtaining her California clinical psychology license in 2006, Dr. Pierce worked as a Behavioral Health Psychologist at the Kaiser Permanente Community Medical Center in San Jose from 2006 to 2007. She then returned to the VA system, serving as a Telehealth Psychologist and Tele-Mental Health Lead for the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System from 2008 to 2011. She subsequently spent a decade as a Staff Psychologist and Readjustment Therapist at the Oakland Vet Center from 2011 to 2021. Continuing her dedicated service to veterans, she provided specialized, culturally congruent treatments at the SFVA Oakland Behavioral Health Clinic from 2021 to 2022, and served as a Staff Psychologist at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Santa Rosa, California, from 2022 to 2025.

Dr. Pierce is dual-licensed in California and Hawaii. An accomplished academic, she has taught as Adjunct Faculty at JFK University and authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and presentations focusing on trauma, telehealth, and culturally integrated PTSD treatments.