Research

For about three decades crisis intervention teams have been supporting people immediately after psychologically stressful events such as a death in the family or a serious accident. At a first glance this kind of support for people with acute mental distress seems important and helpful, but so far there is a lack of reliable scientific studies on the effectiveness of such support services. more

The ECoWeB project aims to develop, evaluate, and disseminate a comprehensive mobile web-based application (app) to ubiquitously assess deficits in three major components of Emotional Competence (production, regulation, and knowledge). more

Culturally-Adapted Psychotherapy for Refugees (ReCAP). more

Website: http://project-recap.de/

Our group is currently conducting different studies aiming to investigate network approach for PTSD, anxiety, worry, and repetitive negative thinking. The main aim of our research is to explore network analysis as a tool for individualization of psychological treatment. more

This project aims to identify cognitive processes that are associated with feelings of lack of sleep. Also we are developing the methods to modify those cognitive processes in order to reduce subjective sleeplessness. more

Imagery Rescripting (ImRs) is a promising therapeutic technique for the treatment of several psychological disorders that are associated with aversive emotional memories. The major goal of our research is to gain deeper understanding of the working mechanisms underlying ImRs as well as on the effects of ImRs in different psychological disorders. more

Our research focuses on the role of individual differences in cognitive control for the development and maintenance of mental disorders (e.g., PTSD or affective disorders), deficits in emotion regulation and repetitive negative thinking. Therefore, we conduct analogue studies, use transcranial direct current stimulation and conduct clinical studies in different patient groups. more

We use behavioral measures to assess and modify cognitive biases on the basis of response time and accuracy. Studies include (a) the assessment of latent aggression and perfectionism in obsessive-compulsive disorder and major depression using implicit association tests, (b) parameterization of attention bias in the dot-probe task, (c) the assessment of different cognitive biases in PTSD, and (d) the investigation of the efficacy and working mechanisms of CBM. more

In close cooperation with Refugio München - treatment center for traumatized refugees and torture survivors - we investigate the consequences of forced migration and traumatic experiences in refugees. Based on these results we develop and evaluate intercultural therapy modules. Currently we are focusing on emotion regulation and transdiagnostic culture-sensitive treatment methods for traumatized refugees. more

Our group is currently conducting a series of studies investigating psychological mediators between childhood trauma and psychopathology in adulthood, including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Major Depression, and Substance Use Disorder.
In collaboration with Prof. Dr. Corinna Reck, we are additionally investigating characteristics of parent-child interactions in survivors of childhood trauma. more

Sleep disturbances are one of the main symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This project investigates different aspects of sleep disturbances, such as insomnia, nightmares as well as related psychological factors like fear of sleep, in people with and without PTSD. more