Matthias Berking

• Ph.D.
• Philipps University of Marburg

Introduction The detrimental consequences of stress highlight the need for precise stress detection, as this offers a window for timely intervention. However, both objective and subjective measurements suffer from validity limitations. Contactless sensing technologies using machine learning methods present a potential alternative and could be used...

Background Harboring dysfunctional depressogenic cognitions contributes to the development and maintenance of depression. A central goal of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression is to invalidate such cognitions via cognitive reappraisal (CR). However, relatively low remission rates and high dropout rates in CBT demonstrate the need for...

Farmers and related professionals are at risk of depression due to laborious work requirements, financial challenges, seasonal working conditions, high residence in under-resourced areas, and low help-seeking behavior. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of personalized telephone coaching in reducing depressive symptom severity...

Detecting depression is a critical component of mental health diagnosis, and accurate assessment is essential for effective treatment. This study introduces a novel, fully automated approach to predicting depression severity using the E-DAIC dataset. We employ Large Language Models (LLMs) to extract depression-related indicators from interview tran...

Background Dysfunctional depressogenic cognitions are considered a key factor in the etiology and maintenance of depression. In cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the current gold-standard psychotherapeutic treatment for depression, cognitive restructuring techniques are employed to address dysfunctional cognitions. However, high drop-out and non-...

Objective To investigate the effectiveness of a guided, internet- and smartphone-based gratitude intervention on the transdiagnostic risk-factor ‘repetitive negative thinking’. The multicomponent intervention integrates a variety of gratitude exercises, targeting the cognitive, emotional and behavioural facets of gratitude. Method Two hundred adul...

Objectives Emotion regulation plays an important role in the development and maintenance of psychopathology. However, the question whether specific ER skills are related to specific psychological symptoms has rarely been studied, but has important implications for targeted interventions. This analysis aims to explore potential differential associat...

Background Maladaptive emotion regulation has received a lot of attention as a potential mechanism underlying major depressive disorder (MDD). However, less is known about the role of adaptive emotion regulation skills and its specificity for MDD. The Adaptive Coping with Emotions model provides a framework for this, distinguishing early (Awareness...

We examined the feasibility, acceptability, and clinical potential of a smartphone-based Approach-Avoidance Modification Training (AAMT) that required users to deliberately display anger and positive emotions (AAMT-AP) to move (dys-)functional stress-related beliefs away from and towards themselves, respectively. The per protocol sample consisted o...

Background Increasing interest has centered on the psychotherapeutic working alliance as a means of understanding clinical change in digital mental health interventions in recent years. However, little is understood about how and to what extent a digital mental health program can have an impact on the working alliance and clinical outcomes in a ble...

Background As the return to alcohol use in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) is common during treatment and recovery, it is important that abstinence motivation is maintained after such critical incidences. Our study aims to explore how individuals with AUD participating in an app-based intervention with telephone coaching after inpatient...

Introduction: Limited research exists on intervention efficacy for comorbid subclinical anxiety and depressive disorders, despite their common co-occurrence. Internet- and mobile-based interventions (IMIs) are promising to reach individuals facing subclinical symptoms. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a transdiagnostic and...

Background Problematic drinking is common among college students and associated with various somatic and mental health problems. Given significant evidence for the efficacy of smartphone-based interventions and the frequent use of smartphones among college students, it can be assumed that such interventions have great potential to facilitate access...

Perceived stress, a global health problem associated with various mental disorders, is assumed to be influenced by dysfunctional beliefs. It can be hypothesized that these beliefs can be modified with the help of approach‐avoidance modification trainings (AAMTs). In the present study (conducted 2020–2022), we aimed to clarify whether the efficacy o...

Previous research has identified maladaptive emotion regulation as a key factor in psychopathology. Thus, addressing emotion regulation via scalable, low-threshold digital interventions – such as smartphone-based Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) – holds important therapeutic potential. Using a randomized-controlled crossover trial, we tested the e...

Machine learning-based depression classification based on paralinguistic speech parameters yields a novel approach to detect depression. However, there is uncertainty about the effect of different types of speech recordings on classification accuracy. We suggest that recordings of free speech containing antidepressive statements may be particularly...

Clinical research demonstrates the bidirectional associations between affect and sleep: Major depressive disorder is a prevalent clinical disorder, characterized by alterations in affect and sleep. Conversely, sleep disturbances emerge as prodromal manifestations preceding the onset of the disorder. Despite these close links, few studies investigat...

Background It is uncertain whether app-based interventions add value to existing mental health care. Objective To examine the incremental effects of app-based interventions when used as adjunct to mental health interventions. Methods We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases on September 15th, 2023, for...

Background A key vulnerability factor in mental health problems is chronic stress. There is a need for easy-to-disseminate and effective interventions to advance the prevention of stress-related illnesses. App-based stress management trainings can fulfill this need. As subjectively experienced stress may be influenced by dysfunctional beliefs, modi...

Zielsetzung: Die vorliegende Studie thematisiert potenzielle Schnittstellenprobleme, indem sie die Nutzung von An-schlussmaßnahmen (AN) bei Patient_innen nach stationärem Alkoholentzug ohne Nahtlosverfahren untersuchte. Methodik: Analysiert wurde die Kontrollgruppe des SmartAssistEntz-Projekts. Dazu wurden 181 Personen drei und sechs Wochen sowie d...

Background and aims Internet Use Disorders (IUDs) are emerging as a societal challenge. Evidence-based treatment options are scarce. Digital health interventions may be promising to deliver psychological treatment to individuals with IUDs directly in their online setting. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a digital health interv...

Introduction. Pregnancy is a unique time in a woman’s life that can be both exciting and challenging. It is also a period that can be associated with significant stress, anxiety, and depression, which can have negative consequences for both the mother and the baby. Mindfulness interventions are known to be a well-suited treatment and prevention met...

Low-threshold and remotely delivered preventive interventions, like telephone coaching, are warranted for farmers who experience multiple risk factors for depression, live in underserved areas, and show low help-seeking behavior. Factors facilitating uptake and actual use of effective remote interventions are important to reduce depression disease...

Background and aims Internet use disorder (IUD), characterized as the inability to control one’s internet use, is associated with reduced quality of life and mental health comorbidities such as depression, substance abuse, or anxiety. Evidence-based treatment options are scarce due to the novelty of the diagnosis. Internet- and mobile-based interve...

BACKGROUND A key vulnerability factor in mental health problems is chronic stress. There is a need for easy-to-disseminate and effective interventions to advance the prevention of stress-related illnesses. App-based stress management trainings can fulfill this need. As subjectively experienced stress may be influenced by dysfunctional beliefs, modi...

BACKGROUND Stress is highly prevalent and known to be a risk factor for a wide range of physical and mental disorders. The effectiveness of digital stress management interventions has been confirmed; however, research on its economic merits is still limited. OBJECTIVE To assess the cost-effectiveness, cost–utility, and cost-benefit of a universal...

Background Stress is highly prevalent and known to be a risk factor for a wide range of physical and mental disorders. The effectiveness of digital stress management interventions has been confirmed; however, research on its economic merits is still limited. Objective This study aims to assess the cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, and cost-benefit...

BACKGROUND Increasing interest has centred on the psychotherapeutic working alliance as a means of understanding clinical change in digital mental health interventions in recent years. However, little is understood about how and to what extent a digital mental health program can have an impact on the working alliance and clinical outcomes in a blen...

Genito-Pelvic Pain/Penetration-Disorder (GPPPD) is a common disorder but rarely treated in routine care. Previous research documents that GPPPD symptoms can be treated effectively using internet-based psychological interventions. However, non-response remains common for all state-of-the-art treatments and it is unclear which patient groups are expe...

Introduction Depression has a significant impact on individuals and society, which is why preventive measures are important. Farmers represent an occupational group exposed to many risk factors for depression. The potential of guided, tailored internet-based interventions and a personalized telephone coaching is evaluated in a German project of the...

Zusammenfassung. Konsumvariablen und Abstinenz scheinen unzureichend zur Erfassung der Genesung bei Personen mit einer Alkoholkonsumstörung. Stattdessen rücken patientenzentrierte Indikatoren wie die Lebensqualität zunehmend in den Vordergrund. Um den Forderungen adäquater Messinstrumente gerecht zu werden, wurde der Substance Use Recovery Evaluato...

A key vulnerability factor for mental and somatic health problems is chronic stress. Thus, there is a need for easy-to-disseminate and effective stress interventions to advance the prevention of stress-related illnesses. App-based stress management trainings can fulfil this need. Since subjectively experienced stress may be influenced by dysfunctio...

Sexual dysfunctions are highly prevalent and undertreated. Internet- and mobile-based psychological interventions (IMIs) could be a promising addition to close this treatment gap, given their accessibility, anonymity, and scalability. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the efficacy of IMIs for sexual dysfunctions. A comprehensive...

Introduction Farmers, forest workers and gardeners have a higher risk of developing depression compared to other occupational populations. As part of the German pilot project “With us in balance”, the potential of six guided internet- and mobile-based interventions (IMIs) to prevent depression among their insurants is examined. The IMI program is t...

Introduction Farmers have a high risk for depression (MDD). Preventive measures targeting this often remotely living population might reduce depression burden. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of personalized telephone coaching in reducing depressive symptom severity and preventing MDD in farmers compared to enhanced treatment as usual...

Fragestellung: Selbstberichtete Impulsivität, ein Konstrukt mit verschiedenen Facetten, scheint ein wichtiger Rückfallprädiktor im Rahmen einer Alkoholabhängigkeit zu sein, unter anderem vermittelt über vermehrtes Craving. Die Befunde könnten darauf zurückgeführt werden, dass eine Dysbalance des impulsiven und reflexiven Systems in einem impulsiven...

Objectives Deficits in emotion regulation (ER) have been shown to be associated with binge‐eating disorder (BED). To further clarify the causal nature of this association, we tested whether systematically enhancing ER skills would reduce symptoms of BED. Methods We randomly allocated N = 101 individuals meeting the criteria for BED to a transdiagn...

Background Depression and comorbid chronic back pain (CBP) lead to high personal and economic burden. Internet- and mobile-based interventions (IMI) might be a cost-effective adjunct to established interventions. Methods A health economic evaluation was embedded into an observer-blinded, multicenter RCT (societal and health care perspective). We r...

There is evidence that craving mediates the relationship between Impulsive Personality Traits (IPTs) and relapse during the treatment of an Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). To provide tailored interventions, a deeper understanding of the relation between IPTs and craving, namely mediating processes, is important. Based on previous literature, we propose...

Background Alcohol use disorder, a prevalent and disabling mental health problem, is often characterized by a chronic disease course. While effective inpatient and aftercare treatment options exist, the transferal of treatment success into everyday life is challenging and many patients remain without further assistance. App-based interventions with...

Objectives Impulsivity is related to a higher risk of relapse in alcohol use disorders. However, besides drinking behavior, other recovery outcomes like physical and mental health-related quality of life are at least as important. The present study aimed to fill a research gap regarding the association of different impulsivity facets with health-re...

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of an internet-based treatment for Genito-Pelvic Pain/Penetration Disorder (GPPPD) which adversely affects women's sexuality and is associated with reduced well-being and mental health comorbidities. Method: Two-hundred women with GPPPD (no penetrative intercourse ≥6 months) were rand...

Aims: To perform an economic evaluation of guided and unguided internet-based interventions to reduce problematic alcohol consumption in employees compared with a waitlist control condition (WLC) with unrestricted access to treatment-as-usual. Design: A cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and cost-utility analysis (CUA) from a societal and a cost-...

PurposeTo investigate the associations of childhood adversities (CAs) with lifetime onset and transitions across suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) among incoming college students.Methods Web-based self-report surveys administered to 20,842 incoming college students from nine countries (response rate 45.6%) assessed lifetime suicidal ideation, p...

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Ein adäquater bzw. kompetenter Umgang mit schwierigen Emotionen ist bei Personen mit psychischen Störungen oft eingeschränkt. Mit dem Training emotionaler Kompetenzen (TEK) nach Berking (2017) existiert ein gut strukturiertes Behandlungsmanual, mit dem man emotionale Kompetenzen störungsübergreifend trainieren kann. In...

Background The evidence base for internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (iCBT-I) is firm; however, little is known about iCBT-I’s health-economic effects. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and cost–utility of iCBT-I in reducing insomnia among schoolteachers. Methods Schoolteachers (N=128) with clinica...

Background. Depressive disorder has a major impact on public health. Thus, prevention of depression is becoming increasingly important. Farmers are a vulnerable population for developing depression or other mental health disorders due to a variety of risk factors in their work context. The German social insurance company for farmers, forest owners...

Background Given their ubiquity and technological facilities, smartphone-based interventions (SBIs) hold potential to support the cost-effective dissemination of evidence-based treatments for depression. As technologically enriched, blended approach–avoidance modification trainings (AAMTs) have recently been shown effective for symptom reduction in...

BACKGROUND The evidence base for internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (iCBT-I) is firm; however, little is known about iCBT-I’s health-economic effects. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and cost–utility of iCBT-I in reducing insomnia among schoolteachers. METHODS Schoolteachers (N=128) with clinica...

Background: Internet interventions have been shown to be effective in treating anxiety disorders. Most interventions to date focus on single disorders and disregard potential comorbidities. Objective: The aim of this mixed-methods study was to investigate feasibility, user experience, and effects of a newly developed individually tailored transd...

Background Although there is evidence for the efficacy of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT), the generalizability of results to routine care is limited. Objective This study systematically reviews effectiveness studies of guided iCBT interventions for the treatment of depression or anxiety. Methods The acceptability (uptake, part...

Background: Farmers are a vulnerable population for developing depression or other mental health disorders due to a variety of risk factors in their work context. Beyond face-to-face resources, preventive internet- and tele-based interventions could extend available treatment options to overcome barriers to care. The German Social Insurance Company...

Background Emotion regulation (ER) is associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). However, most findings are from cross-sectional studies and are hence unable to clarify whether deficits in ER longitudinally contribute to the worsening and maintenance of PTSS. In addition, no studies consider the process of how ER affects PTSS. To further...

Sleep disturbances and insomnia are common in college students, and reduce their quality of life and academic performance. The aim of this meta‐analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of psychological interventions aimed at improving sleep in college students. A meta‐analysis was conducted with 10 randomized controlled trials with passive control con...

Background Major depressive disorder (MDD) is highly prevalent and often managed by general practitioners (GPs). GPs mostly prescribe medication and show low referral rates to psychotherapy. Many patients remain untreated. Blended psychotherapy (bPT) combines internet-based interventions with face-to-face psychotherapy and could increase treatment...

Background: While improving emotion regulation (ER) is a central goal in the therapy of bulimia nervosa (BN), there is no experimental evidence on the efficacy of different ER strategies. (1) We hypothesized that mindfulness as well as self-compassion as contextual strategies and cognitive restructuring as classical cognitive behavioral strategy w...

UNSTRUCTURED Background: Emerging evidence indicates the effectiveness of Internet-based mobile supported stress management (iSMIs) in highly stressed employees. It is yet unclear, however, whether iSMIs are also effective without a preselection process in a universal prevention approach which more closely resembles routine occupational health care...

Background: Emerging evidence indicates the effectiveness of internet-based mobile-supported stress management interventions (iSMIs) in highly stressed employees. It is yet unclear, however, whether iSMIs are also effective without a preselection process in a universal prevention approach, which more closely resembles routine occupational health c...

BACKGROUND Previous studies provide evidence for the effectiveness of web-based interventions for panic disorder with and without agoraphobia (PD). Smartphone-based technologies hold significant potential for further enhancing accessibility and efficacy of such interventions. OBJECTIVE The aim of the present randomized controlled trial (RCT) was t...

Background Previous studies provide evidence for the effectiveness of web-based interventions for panic disorder with and without agoraphobia. Smartphone-based technologies hold significant potential for further enhancing the accessibility and efficacy of such interventions. Objective This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the efficacy...

Background Chronic back pain (CBP) is linked to a higher prevalence and higher occurrence of major depressive disorder (MDD) and can lead to reduced quality of life. Unfortunately, individuals with both CBP and recurrent MDD are underidentified. Utilizing health care insurance data may provide a possibility to better identify this complex populatio...

BACKGROUND Major depressive disorder (MDD) is highly prevalent and often managed by general practitioners (GPs). GPs mostly prescribe medication and show low referral rates to psychotherapy. Many patients remain untreated. Blended psychotherapy (bPT) combines internet-based interventions with face-to-face psychotherapy and could increase treatment...

Background: Farmers show high levels of depressive symptoms and mental health problems in various studies. This study is part of a nationwide prevention project carried out by a German social insurance company for farmers, foresters, and gardeners (SVLFG) to implement internet- and tele-based services among others to improve mental health in this p...

BACKGROUND Although there is evidence for the efficacy of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT), the generalizability of results to routine care is limited. OBJECTIVE This study systematically reviews effectiveness studies of guided iCBT interventions for the treatment of depression or anxiety. METHODS The acceptability (uptake, part...

Background: Farmers show high levels of depressive symptoms and mental health problems in various studies. This study is part of a nationwide prevention project carried out by a German social insurance company for farmers, foresters and gardeners (SVLFG ) to implement internet- and tele-based services among others to improve mental health in this p...

Background: Farmers show high levels of depressive symptoms and mental health problems in various studies. This study is part of a nationwide prevention project carried out by a German social insurance company for farmers, foresters and gardeners (SVLFG ) to implement internet- and tele-based services among others to improve mental health in this p...

While smartphone usage is ubiquitous, and the app market for smartphone apps targeted at mental health is growing rapidly, the evidence of standalone apps for treating mental health symptoms is still unclear. This meta-analysis investigated the efficacy of standalone smartphone apps for mental health. A comprehensive literature search was conducted...

Background: Blended psychotherapy (bPT) is a treatment that integrates internet- and mobile-based interventions into out-/inpatient psychotherapy. It can enrich the therapy by using online-based treatment modules as therapeutic extension that patients use time- and location-independently between face-to-face sessions. It could potentially improve t...

Background Panic disorder with and without agoraphobia (PD) is a common psychological disorder. Internet-based interventions have the potential to offer highly scalable low-threshold evidence-based care to people suffering from PD. GET.ON Panic is a newly developed internet-based intervention addressing symptoms of PD. In order to transfer the trai...

BACKGROUND Available smartphone-based interventions (SBIs) for depression predominantly utilize evidence-based strategies from cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), but patient engagement and reported effect sizes are small. Recently, studies have demonstrated that SBIs combining CBT with gamified approach avoidance bias modification training (AAMT)...

Background: Available smartphone-based interventions for depression predominantly use evidence-based strategies from cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), but patient engagement and reported effect sizes are small. Recently, studies have demonstrated that smartphone-based interventions combining CBT with gamified approach-avoidance bias modification...

BACKGROUND Internet interventions have been shown to be effective in treating anxiety disorders. Most interventions to date focus on single disorders and disregard potential comorbidities. OBJECTIVE The aim of this mixed-methods study was to investigate feasibility, user experience, and effects of a newly developed individually tailored transdiagn...

Deficits in general emotion regulation skills have been shown to be associated with various mental disorders. Thus, general affect-regulation training has been proposed as promising transdiagnostic approach to the treatment of psychopathology. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a general affect-regulation as a stand-alone, g...

Hintergrund: Blended Psychotherapy (bPT) ist ein Behandlungskonzept zur Integration von Internet-/Mobil-basierten Interventionen in die ambulante/stationäre Psychotherapie. Es kann den Therapieprozess bereichern, indem Online-basierte Behandlungselemente als verlängerter therapeutischer Arm genutzt und zwischen den Therapiesitzungen von PatientInne...

Background: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is highly prevalent among university students, but the majority of affected students remain untreated. Internet- and mobile-based self-help interventions (IMIs) may be a promising strategy to address this unmet need. This study aims to investigate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of an unguided internet...

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus type 1 and type 2 are linked to higher prevalence and occurrences of depression. Internet-based depression- and diabetes-specific cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) can be effective in reducing depressive symptom severity and diabetes-related emotional distress. The aim of the study was to test whether disease-spe...

Background Neurobiological studies suggest that deficits in emotion recognition are common phenomena in alexithymia. Thus, effective treatments for alexithymia often include skills training in the domain of emotion recognition. Given that smartphone-based interventions (SBIs) offering skills training have been shown to be promising adjuncts to psyc...

Objectives Internet‐ and mobile‐based interventions (IMIs) offer the opportunity to deliver mental health treatments on a large scale. This randomized controlled trial evaluated the efficacy of an unguided IMI (StudiCare SAD) for university students with social anxiety disorder (SAD). Methods University students (N = 200) diagnosed with SAD were r...

Clinically diagnosed patients who suffer psychological illnesses are usually well supported during ambulatory treatments. Once back in their personal environment, the likelihood increases for them to relapse into past conscious or subconscious habitual patterns. The key to a successful and long-lasting medical attendance is regarded as an individua...

Abstract Introduction: Persistent medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) are a major burden for health care. Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is efficacious for patients with MUS, with small to medium effects. The current study investigates whether therapy outcomes of a CBT for MUS patients can be improved by complementing it with emotion regulation...

Background: This study's aims were to compare the efficacy and negative effects of guided Internet-based cognitive behavior therapy (iCBT) and online psychoeducation (OPE) in people with major depression. Methods: A total of 131 individuals were randomized. Assessments took place at baseline (T1), six weeks (T2), and three months (T3). The primary...