Clinical Psychology & Psychological Treatment @LMU Munich

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Many thanks to the PI Sebastian Wolf as well as many colleagues who we (@eva-herzog.bsky.social, @miamgunak.bsky.social, Tristan Nakagawa, Keisuke Takano, and @thomasehring.bsky.social) had the pleasure to collaborate with in this project.

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The basis for this recommendation were the positive findings of the ImPuls project funded by the Innovation Fund. Results of the clinical trial can be found here: doi.org/10.1016/S221...

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We were thrilled to hear that the G-BA-Innovationsausschuss has recommended implementing the ImPuls intervention, a transdiagnostic group exercise program for mental disorders, in standard care (see innovationsfonds.g-ba.de/downloads/be...).

🤝 Team members involved in this line of research:
@julia-funk.bsky.social @celinalianemueller.bsky.social @thomasehring.bsky.social @joannahunsmann.bsky.social

💡 Future directions:
• Using EMA to assess negative thought spirals provides additional value for the prediction psychopathology.
• In future studies, we will explore in which situations people engage in RNT, analyze temporal patterns of RNT, and investigate how both relates to psychopathology.

🔍 What we found:
• EMA scores predicted depression and anxiety up to one year later.
• These effects held after accounting for baseline symptoms and retrospective trait RNT measures — and EMA turned out to be a more consistent predictor of psychopathology than trait measures at later follow-ups.

Measuring Negative Thought Spirals in Real Time 🧠📱
In two studies, we used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) via smartphones to track repetitive negative thinking in real time.

🔗 Read the studies:
doi.org/10.1371/jour... doi.org/10.1016/j.br...

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Read the publications here:

doi.org/10.1002/cpp....
doi.org/10.1037/ccp0...
doi.org/10.32872/cpe...
doi.org/10.1155/2024...

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What are clinical implications?
- Preventing dropout may require an adequate preparation for treatment.
- Modifying existing treatment approaches and offering adjuvant or second-line treatment options to specific subgroups of PTSD patients may hold promise for reducing non-response.

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What do we learn?
- Dropout in refugees and naturalistic PTSD treatment not higher as previously assumed; refugee-specific predictors must be considered.
- Treatment modifications for patients at high risk of non-response. Future research should focus on mechanisms and process variables.

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What did we find for non-response:
- About 40% did not respond to first-line guideline-recommended treatments for PTSD. We found higher non-response rates among men, older patients, refugees or veterans, and those with severe PTSD or comorbid depression.

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- 15% of patients discontinued trauma-focused treatment in a naturalistic setting. Dropout was linked to age and living situation.

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What did we find for dropout:
- An average dropout rate of 19% for the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers and a potential influence of refugee-specific variables.

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In her dissertation “The Complexity of Treatment Failure – Prevalence and Predictors of Dropout and Non-Response in Psychological Treatment for Traumatized Populations”, Verena examined the prevalence and predictors of dropout and non-response across four studies.

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A substantial number of traumatized patients discontinue psychological treatment early or do not benefit sufficiently. But what do we know about treatment failure in the treatment of traumatized patients?

In his keynote lecture, “Treatment of PTSD: State-of-the-Art and Beyond,” Professor Thomas Ehring @thomasehring.bsky.social, Chair of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Treatment at LMU Munich @lmu-klips.bsky.social, offered an overview of current evidence-based interventions for PTSD and CPTSD.

(11/11) Links to publications:
Vogel et al. (2025): doi.org/10.1016/j.ja...
Vogel et al. (2025): doi.org/10.1080/2000...
Vogel et al. (2024): doi.org/10.1002/mhs2...
Seiferth & Vogel et al. (2023): doi.org/10.1038/s442...

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- A consensus statement with 25 international experts provides comprehensive guidelines for developing, evaluating, and implementing digital health interventions and assessments in mental health research and practice.

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- However, exploratory findings indicated reduced parenting stress when the intervention was started early postpartum. These results emphasize the need for continued research to enhance the efficacy and reach of such tools in real-world settings.

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- The I-PREGNO mHealth intervention, specifically tailored to the needs of psychosocially burdened families, did not show significant effects on maternal postpartum mental well-being in preregistered analyses.

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- Postpartum depressive symptoms mediated the link between maternal experiences of childhood trauma and challenges in mother–infant bonding, underscoring their pivotal role in early mother–infant relationships.

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- Problems in emotion regulation may represent a promising target for preventive interventions for mothers at increased risk of PPD.

(5/11) Key findings include:
- The first study showed that maternal experiences of early trauma represent a risk factor for PPD. Difficulties in emotion regulation and an anxious attachment style were also associated with an increased risk of postpartum depressive symptoms.

(4/11) Lea’s thesis comprises five publications that integrate clinical, developmental, and digital health perspectives.

(3/11) Furthermore, Lea developed a smartphone-based intervention to foster mental well-being in mothers facing high levels of psychosocial stress during the transition to parenthood.

(2/11) Postpartum Depression (PPD) affects about 17% of mothers worldwide and can have far-reaching consequences for mothers and families. Lea investigated maternal experiences of childhood trauma as a risk factor for PPD and for difficulties in the early mother–infant relationship.

(1/11) How can we better understand and prevent postpartum depression – one of the most common psychological complications in mothers after childbirth? Last but not least, we introduce @lea-vogel.bsky.social's dissertation, which addressed this important question.

Thank you to @maxneufeind.bsky.social for encouraging us to not only disseminate our findings to colleagues but to also to politics and society. Good to hear that our professional society DPGs, represented by its president @evalottabrakemeier.bsky.social at the meeting, is very committed to this.

We were very glad to host the meeting of Clinical Psychology Professors this year. As always, we discussed issues related to teaching, research, clinical training. This year, we invited @maxneufeind.bsky.social to additionally talk about how (Clinical) Psychology can impact on politics and society.

Wir haben uns sehr gefreut, in der vergangenen Woche das jährliche Treffen der Hochschullehrer:innen Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie hier an der @lmumuenchen.bsky.social ausrichten zu können. An zwei Tagen haben wir uns intensiv über aktuelle Themen unseres Faches ausgetauscht.