Elisa Pfeiffer new Chair of Clinical Psychology and Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy

Clinical Psychology at the KU has also been expanded in terms of staff with the introduction of the Master's degree course in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy. In addition to the Chair of Clinical and Biological Psychology, which Professor Rita Rosner has held since 2011, the area of child and adolescent psychotherapy was strengthened with its own chair, which was filled by Elisa Pfeiffer at the beginning of the winter semester. Rosner and Pfeiffer had already worked together in the past on the "Better Care" research project. The project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, aims to improve psychotherapeutic care for unaccompanied young refugees. The University Hospital in Ulm, where Pfeiffer headed the working group, is also involved in the project. Elisa Pfeiffer was already familiar with psychology in Eichstätt through several teaching assignments before her appointment at the KU.

The treatment of trauma and the development and testing of new methods is a focus of Elisa Pfeiffer's work to date. A current research project, for example, is focusing on children and young people who live in residential groups or foster families. According to studies, around three quarters of children and young people in child and youth welfare facilities report having experienced a traumatic event such as physical violence, abuse or neglect at least once. As part of the project, children and adolescents from several institutions receive outreach treatment and the effectiveness of the treatment is monitored. Other projects in which Pfeiffer is involved aim to offer psychological stabilization and help to refugee families, children and young people after they have gone through traumatic experiences of war and flight. As part of projects, young refugees, children and their families were treated, but information materials for professionals and volunteers were also developed. Over the past two years, 130 Ukrainian therapists have been trained as part of her research project "TF-CBT Ukraine", funded by the Porticus Foundation, and these therapists have already treated more than 300 Ukrainian children during the war, reports Pfeiffer.

Another of Elisa Pfeiffer's fields of research is misophonia. This is an excessive sensitivity to certain noises. Pfeiffer cites chewing or breathing noises as examples that lead to strong emotional reactions or even stress in those affected. "In psychology, this is an area that has hardly been researched and is therefore also uncharted territory in treatment", says Pfeiffer. The fact that people feel disturbed by snoring, for example, is normal and a widespread social phenomenon. In her research, however, she wants to investigate the question of when the reaction to such noises becomes pathological, how misophonia affects the quality of life of those affected and how it can be treated. Studies are also planned at the KU's psychotherapeutic outpatient clinic. As part of her professorship, she will set up a university outpatient clinic specifically for children and adolescents.

Elisa Pfeiffer studied psychology in Konstanz and completed her doctorate at the University of Ulm in 2019 with a study on “The Effect of Trauma-focused Interventions on Pediatric Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Posttraumatic Cognitions". in 2020, she was licensed as a child and adolescent psychotherapist and subsequently took over the management of a scientific working group at Ulm University Hospital. Research visits have taken Pfeiffer to Norway and Belgium, and she has held several teaching positions in Constance and Eichstätt. In addition to her scientific work, she has always worked clinically at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy at Ulm University Hospital, most recently as head of the day clinic. Elisa Pfeiffer has now held the chair at the KU since September 2024.