Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie

Research focus

Obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD), which are characterized by the presence of obsessions and/or compulsions, follow a chronic course in approximately 60% of cases with varying degrees of severity (‘waxing and waning’) and are associated with substantial individual and socioeconomic burden. The etiology of OCD is considered multifactorial and comprises complex interactions of multiple biological and non-biological factors that contribute to both symptom manifestation and maintenance. Therefore, our research aims at elucidating the pathogenetic mechanisms of OCD and its clinical subtypes in a multi-level approach combining clinical, environmental, and psychosocial information with neurobiological, immunologic, and molecular readouts.

In addition to investigating the pathomechanisms of OCD, our group also focuses on systematically assessing the effectiveness of OCD-specific therapeutic approaches in an inpatient and outpatient setting, identifying multidimensional predictors of treatment outcome, and understanding the mechanisms of action underlying therapeutic change on clinical and biomarker levels.

Planned research projects

Our research group is currently being set up, and projects on the following topics are in preparation:

• Patho- and therapy(epi)genetics of OCD
• The immunological causes of OCD in a multimodal diagnostic work-up
• Evaluation of our outpatient concept for patients with OCD
• Evaluation of the Freiburg OCD-specific therapeutic approaches for patients with OCD

Selected publications

Pubmed

Funding

• EQUIP Medical Scientist Funding, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg
• Berta-Ottenstein-Programme for Advanced Clinician Scientists, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg