• 2016 Master of Science in Clinical Psychology and Health Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin

• Thesis: Job demands and job resources as predictors of burnout in police service

• 2014 Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg

• Thesis: Effects of computer-assisted cognitive remediation on cognitive and non-cognitive measures in depressive patients

Career

Since October 2016 - PhD candidate
Freie Universität Berlin - Division of Clinical Psychological Intervention

• Topic of PhD project: Is oxytocin a valid biomarker for posttraumatic stress disorder?

 

2015 – 2016 Student research assistant

Freie Universität Berlin - Divisions of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy and Public Health

2015 Student assistant

Center for Ambulant Rehabilitation Berlin

2012 – 2013 Student research assistant

Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg - Divisions of Cognitive Psychology and Methodology

Research Stay

March 2018 - May 2018

Research stay at Academic Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Scholarships

Since 2016 - PhD scholarship, German Economical Foundation

September 2018 - Scholarship for travel, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

April 2017 - Santander International Summer School on Social Processes and Mental Health

2013 - 2016 - Student scholarship, Protestant Study Foundation Villigst

The research group “Biopsychological mechanisms of psychotherapeutic interventions” investigates the interactions between psychological and biological mechanisms during effective psychotherapeutic treatment.

We are especially interested in inspecting alterations in various biological systems, such as the HPA axis, the autonomic nervous system or the oxytocin system, as correlates of the development and maintenance of mental disorders, and in further investigating whether these alterations normalise in response to successful psychotherapeutic treatment. Additionally, we are interested if these alterations predict treatment response.

Therefore, we include markers of biological systems (e.g., cortisol, α-amylase, oxytocin) into psychotherapeutic treatment studies by using multi-methodological approaches (saliva-, blood- or hair-based markers). By the parallel investigation of various biological systems, we aim to pursue a multi-dimensional approach in our studies, allowing us to understand the interplay between these systems.

Another focus of our investigations are female sex-related specificities of mental health. For instance, we are addressing the influence of hormones, mood, and stress regulation in different menstrual cycle phases.

Next to empirical studies, we conduct systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the above-mentioned topics.

Head: Dr. Sarah Schumacher

DoktorandInnen: M.Sc. Sinha Engel, M. Sc. Hannah Klusmann, M.Sc. Sebastian Laufer

Peer-reviewed Articles

Engel, S.*, van Zuiden, M.*, Frijling, J. L., Koch, S. B. J., Nawijn, L., Schumacher, S., Knaevelsrud, C., Veltman, D. J. & Olff, M. (accepted). Patterns of recovery from early posttraumatic stress symptoms after a preventive intervention with oxytocin: Hormonal contraception use is a prognostic factor. Biological Psychiatry.
* shared first authorship

Schumacher, S.*, Niemeyer, H.*, Engel, S., Cwik, J.C., Laufer, S., Klusmann, H. & Knaevelsrud, C. (2019). HPA axis regulation in posttraumatic stress disorder: A meta-analysis focusing on potential moderators. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 100, 35-57.
* shared first authorship

Engel, S.*, Klusmann, H.*, Ditzen, B., Knaevelsrud, C., & Schumacher, S. (2019). Menstrual cycle-related fluctuations in oxytocin concentrations: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology.
* shared first authorship

Engel, S., Laufer, S., Knaevelsrud, C., & Schumacher, S. (2019). The endogenous oxytocin system in depressive disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 101, 138-149. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.11.011

Laufer, S., Engel, S., Knaevelsrud, C., & Schumacher, S. (2018). Cortisol and alpha-amylase assessment in psychotherapeutic intervention studies: A systematic review. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 95, 235-262. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.09.023

Schumacher, S.*, Niemeyer, H.*, Engel, S., Cwik, J. C., & Knaevelsrud, C. (2018). Psychotherapeutic treatment and HPA axis regulation in posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 9(98), 186-201. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.08.006
* shared first authorship

Engel, S., Wörfel, F., Santa Maria, A., Wolter, C., Kleiber, D., & Renneberg, B. (2018). Leadership climate prevents emotional exhaustion in German police officers. International Journal of Police Science and Management, 20(3), 217-224. doi:10.1177/1461355718786295

Trapp, W., Engel, S., Hajak, G., Lautenbacher, S., Gallhofer, B. (2016). Cognitive remediation for depressed inpatients: Results of a pilot randomized controlled trial. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 50(1), 46-55. doi: 10.1177/0004867415622271.

Selected Talks

Engel, S., van Zuiden, M., Frijling, J. L., Koch, S. B. J., Nawijn, L., Schumacher, S., Knaevelsrud, C., Neumann, I. D., Bosch, J. A., Veltman, D., Olff, M. (2018). Hormonal concentrations early post-trauma influence posttraumatic stress disorder symptom development and the effects of a preventive pharmacological intervention. 48th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology (ISPNE), Irvine, California, USA, September 2018

Selected Poster Presentations

Engel, S., Heinrich, M., Zagorscak, P. & Knaevelsrud, C. (2017). The working alliance in an online intervention for depression: Quality, course and relation to outcome. Scientific meeting on attachment in medicine and psychotherapy, Heidelberg, Germany, September 2017

Engel, S., Niemeyer, H., Cwik, J., Knaevelsrud, C. & Schumacher, S. (2017). HPA axis regulation in posttraumatic stress disorder: A meta-analysis. International Congress of the World Association for Stress Related and Anxiety Disorders (WASAD) Würzburg, Germany, September 2017*

* honored with the ‘Best Poster Award’