Sebastian Trautmann

• Dr., Psychotherapist (CBT)
• Professor of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at MSH Medical School Hamburg – University of Applied Sciences and Medical University

Although substantial evidence suggests altered executive functioning and autobiographical memory in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the clinical significance of these findings remains unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) on different aspects of cognitive functioning (working memory, interference sus...

Background and objectives Disorder-specific forms of Repetitive Negative Thinking (RNT) are associated with multiple diagnostic categories, indicating a transdiagnostic nature. Few studies examined content-independent RNT processes across groups of diagnosed mental disorders. Moreover, theory describes RNT processes as critically involved in the et...

Aims: To conduct a meta-analysis of population-based studies to quantify the association between sexual minority status (lesbian women, gay men and bisexual people) and the risk of common mental disorders (depressive disorders, alcohol use disorders (AUD), anxiety disorders, and suicidality). Method: PubMed, PsycInfo, Web of Science, the Cochrane...

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe mental disorder causing high individual and societal costs. The use of maladaptive emotion regulation (ER) strategies has been identified as a potential contributing factor. This meta-analysis aimed to quantify the associations between PTSD symptoms and rumination, thought suppression and experientia...

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...

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been associated with changes in the processing of internal body signals, known as interoception. Changes in brain structure, particularly in the insula, are thought to underlie impaired interoception. As studies specifically investigating this association are largely lacking, this analysis takes an approach that compa...

Introduction Traumatic event exposure is a risk factor for the development and maintenance of psychopathology. Social-affective responses to trauma exposure (e.g. shame, guilt, revenge, social alienation) could moderate this relationship, but little is known about their relevance for different types of psychopathology. Moreover, the interplay of di...

Rationale The ad-libitum taste test is a widely used covert measure of motivation to consume alcohol in the laboratory. However, studies on its construct validity and potential confounding factors are scarce. Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the construct validity of the ad-libitum taste test by examining the association of ad-libitum alcoh...

Introduction: A growing body of research suggests that alcohol use disorder (AUD) involves a disruption in the processing of internal bodily signals, known as interoception. Changes in brain structure, particularly in the insula, are thought to underlie altered interoception. As studies specifically investigating this relationship are largely lacki...

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...

Introduction Traumatic event exposure is an important risk factor for the development and maintenance of psychopathology. Social-affective responses to trauma exposure (e.g. shame, guilt, revenge, social alienation) could moderate this relationship, but little is known about their relevance for different types of psychopathology. Moreover, the inte...

To the Editor Hoge et al 1 composed a well-written and interesting study examining the effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) vs escitalopram for the treatment of anxiety disorders. A prominent finding was that in adults with anxiety disorders, 8 weeks' treatment with MBSR was noninfe-rior to escitalopram. The subjective experience of...

Background After stressful event exposure, higher perceived social support is a well-established correlate of decreased risk for psychological symptoms, including depressive, anxiety and posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms. However, longitudinal data on the direction of this association and the stability of perceived social support are scarce and h...

Abstract Background Depression is the most common mental health burden worldwide. Primary care physicians (PCPs) play a key role in the care provision for people with depression. The first objective of the present study was to examine the health care situation of depression in primary care, focusing on the cooperation between PCPs and mental health...

Background Excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorders (AUD) are among the leading preventable causes of premature morbidity and mortality and are considered a major public health concern. In order to reduce the individual and societal burden of excessive alcohol use, it is crucial to identify high-risk individuals at earlier stages and...

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe mental disorder causing high individual and societal costs. The use of maladaptive emotion regulation (ER) strategies has been identified as a potential contributing factor. This meta-analysis aimed to quantify the associations between PTSD symptoms and rumination, thought suppression and experientia...

Background: Depression is the most common mental health burden worldwide. Primary care physicians (PCPs) play a key role in the care provision for people with depression. The main objective of the present study was to examine the health care situation of depression in primary care, focusing on the cooperation between PCPs and mental health speciali...

Background After stressful event exposure, higher perceived social support is a well-established correlate of decreased risk for psychological symptoms, including depressive, anxiety and posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms. However, longitudinal data on the direction of this association and the stability of perceived social support are scarce and h...

Distress is a characteristic of various mental disorders. The transdiagnostic construct repetitive negative thinking (RNT) has been suggested to contribute to distress. However, there is little evidence that this association can actually be found across diagnostic categories. We analyzed this association for phobias, other anxiety disorders, stress...

Introduction: Besides the commonly described gray matter (GM) deficits, there is growing evidence of significant white matter (WM) alterations in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). WM changes can be assessed using volumetric and diffusive magnetic resonance imaging methods, such as voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and diffusion tensor imaging...

A well-founded and thoroughly chosen diagnosis is the basis of every patient-centred treatment. It is also indispensable for scientific exchange. Diagnosis-related studies inform healthcare and social policy decisions. For post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a large number of well-evaluated screening, self-report and interview tools are availabl...

Social factors play a crucial role in moderating the impact of severe stressful events on mental health. Exposure to harassment, hence to unwanted negative behavior that is intended to cause harm and/or is perceived as harmful and hostile, is a social factor thought to have particularly strong negative effects on mental health, including depressive...

Background Traumatic experiences may result in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which is characterized as an exaggerated fear response that cannot be extinguished over time or in safe environments. What are beneficial psychotherapeutic treatment options for PTSD patients? Can oxytocin (OXT), which is involved in the stress response, and safety...

The conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic have heightened the likelihood for both life stressors and childhood maltreatment, while social services are weakened and resources for support are reduced. As a chronic stressor, childhood maltreatment contributes to alterations in the development and functioning of the brain, leading to neuropsychol...

Background While cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the gold-standard psychological treatment for major depression (MD), non-response and lacking stability of treatment gains are persistent issues. Potential factors influencing treatment outcome might be lifetime trauma history and possibly associated primarily prefrontal-cortex- and hippocampus...

Introduction: Besides the commonly described grey matter (GM) deficits, there is growing evidence of significant white matter (WM) alterations in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). WM changes can be assessed using volumetric and diffusive magnetic resonance imaging methods, such as voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and diffusion tensor imaging (...

Background: Childhood maltreatment (CM) is thought to play a key role in the etiology and course of psychotic disorders (PD). In addition, CM is related to neurobiological and clinical characteristics that can lead to poor social functioning. However, the extent to which CM and social functioning are directly associated in individuals with PD, is u...

Group cohesion is thought to be beneficial for the mental health of group members. However, this association could depend on whether the focus lies on one’s perceived personal relationship to other group members or on one’s perception of cohesion of the whole group. The association between higher perceived group cohesion of the whole group and impr...

Background Causal quests in non-randomized studies are unavoidable just because research questions are beyond doubt causal (e.g., aetiology). Large progress during the last decades has enriched the methodical toolbox. Aims Summary papers mainly focus on quantitative and highly formal methods. With examples from clinical psychology, we show how qua...

Psychological treatments of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are associated with non-response rates of up to 50%. This fact highlights the need to identify characteristics of poorer treatment outcome. Among others, previous evidence focused on the role of dysfunctional cortisol secretion which has been related to the development, maintenance an...

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe mental disorder causing high individual and societal costs. Thus, it is important to identify factors associated with PTSD in order to improve interventions. The use of maladaptive emotion regulation (ER) strategies has been identified as such a contributing factor. This meta-analysis aimed to quanti...

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is associated with reductions in grey matter (GM) volume which can lead to changes in numerous brain functions. The results of previous studies on altered GM in AUD differ considerably in the regions identified. Three meta‑analyses carried out between 2014 and 2017 yielded different results. The present study includes the...

Background Functional connectivity is a fundamental principle of brain organization. Cortisol, the end product of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, is a potent modulator of brain functions. Previous studies investigating the association between cortisol levels on brain connectivity are, however, limited to specifica priori defined brain netw...

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a strong risk factor for alcohol dependence (AD) and is associated with a more severe course of the disease. Alterations of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis may play an important role in this relationship. The aim of the present study was to systematically investigate potential alterations in HPA function...

Objective: Childhood maltreatment (CM) plays an important role in the aetiology and course of psychotic disorders and is associated with characteristics that could be relevant for treatment. We aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on the association between CM and treatment outcome in psychotic disorders. Methods: Treatment out...

Eine fundierte und klug gewählte Diagnostik ist Grundlage jeder passgenauen Behandlung. Für den wissenschaftlichen Austausch ist sie unabdingbar. Diagnosebezogene Studien unterstützen versorgungs- und sozialpolitischen Entscheidungen. Für die posttraumatische Belastungsstörung (PTBS) stehen eine Vielzahl gut evaluierter Screening-, Selbstauskunfts-...

Background Although cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is highly effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders, many patients still do not benefit. This study investigates whether a history of traumatic event experience is negatively associated with outcomes of CBT for panic disorder. The moderating role of the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene and...

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by sleep impairment and nightmares. As pleasant odors presented during sleep affect the emotional tone of dreams without inducing arousal, we investigated whether sleep patterns in PTSD can be improved via nocturnal olfactory stimulation. Participants were 40 inpatients with PTSD (n = 35 women;...

Background Traumatic events are associated with alcohol use problems with increased alcohol craving as a potential mediator. There is still a lack of knowledge regarding the causal nature of this association and its underlying mechanisms. This study investigated the effects of acute trauma exposure on alcohol craving in healthy individuals consider...

Until recently, epidemiological data on the prevalence and traumatic events and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have largely been based on studies and study groups from North America. The European research landscape is traditionally more fragmented with many smaller-scale regional or national studies. These studies only allow conclusions abou...

Background The peri-traumatic stress response is a strong predictor of symptom development after trauma exposure. Regarding witnessing trauma, the stress response might depend on the susceptibility to others' emotions (emotional contagion, EC). This study investigated whether EC moderates the immediate stress response using a trauma film paradigm....

Background: When discussing results medical research articles often tear substantive and statistical (methodical) contributions apart, just as if both were independent. Consequently, reasoning on bias tends to be vague, unclear and superficial. This can lead to over-generalized, too narrow and misleading conclusions, especially for causal research...

Hintergrund: Hausärzte haben bei der Versorgung von Patienten mit depressiven Störungen eine zentrale Rolle inne. Diese Studie untersucht die Häufigkeit und Art der Behandlung depressiver Störungen in der primärärztlichen Versorgung. Methode: In einer epidemiologischen Querschnittstudie mit einer Stichtagserhebung in 6 Regionen Deutschlands wurden...

Background: General practitioners play a key role in the care of patients with depressive disorders. We studied the frequency and type of treatment of depressive disorders in primary care. Methods: In a cross-sectional epidemiological study on a particular day in six different regions in Germany, 253 physicians and 3563 unselected patients were as...

A wealth of epidemiological, clinical and pre-clinical research in the past three decades has identified stressful experiences as a major risk factor for excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorders. Given the high individual and societal burden associated with these conditions, a deeper understanding of the nature of this relationship m...

Ziel: Der Zugang zum Suchthilfesystem wird erschwert, wenn der Hausarzt die Alkoholabhängigkeit des Patienten nicht erkennt. Wir überprüften, wie gut hausärztliche und standardisierte klinische Diagnostik übereinstimmen. Methodik: Die deutsche Stichprobe der europaweiten APC-Studie umfasst N=1 356 Patienten, für die Diagnosestellungen durch N=76 Ha...

Alcohol misuse is a common sequela of traumatic event experiences causing considerable morbidity and mortality. Although biological stress indicators have been identified as useful risk markers for the development of trauma-related disorders, no such biological indicators exist for the risk of increased alcohol use after trauma exposure. This is th...

Aims: To present findings on the prevalence and treatment of alcohol use disorders (AUD) in primary care in Germany. Methods: The APC study (Alcohol Dependence in Primary and Specialist Care in Europe) is a cross-sectional study of primary and specialist healthcare in eight European countries. Findings for the German subsample of 1,356 of the 2,304...

In the EU, about 165 million people are affected each year by mental disorders, mostly anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders [1], [2]. Overall, more than 50% of the general population in middle‐ and high‐income countries will suffer from at least one mental disorder at some point in their lives. Mental disorders are therefore by no means limit...

Aims. Provision and need for mental health services among military personnel are a major concern across nations. Two recent comparisons suggest higher rates of mental disorders in US and UK military personnel compared with civilians. However, these findings may not apply to other nations. Previous studies have focused on the overall effects of mili...

Einleitung: Vier von fünf Deutschen mit Alkoholabhängigkeit besuchen mindestens einmal im Jahr ihren Hausarzt [1], der damit als Erstbehandler und als Schnittstelle zum Suchthilfesystem aktiv werden kann [2]. Entscheidend für den Zugang zum Suchthilfesystem ist aber, dass der Hausarzt die Alkoholabhängigkeit des Patienten erkennt. Wir haben überprü...

Hintergrund. Bei der Behandlung der Alkoholabhängigkeit spielt die primärärztliche Versorgung eine wichtige Rolle. Um gezielte Maßnahmen für eine effektive Beteiligung der Hausärzte an der Behandlung Alkoholabhängiger ableiten zu können, ist ein möglichst detailliertes Wissen um den aktuellen Stand der Behandlung der Alkoholabhängigkeit in der prim...

Hintergrund und Zielstellung: Alkoholmissbrauch und Abhängigkeit gehören in Deutschland zu den häufigsten psychischen Störungen. Aktuelle Studien berichten hohe Prävalenzen (3,4%) bei vergleichsweise niedrigen Behandlungsraten (10-15%). Weniger bekannt sind die Patientencharakteristika von Betroffenen, die sich in die spezialisierte Behandlung von...

For the 11th revision of the International classification of diseases, a general category of posttraumatic stress disorders has been proposed with two distinct sibling disorders: posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (CPTSD). General population data are examined on evidence for these two disorders. Data were drawn from a 10-year pro...

Previous evidence on endocrine risk markers for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been inconclusive. Here, we report results of the first prospective study to investigate whether long-term hair cortisol levels and experimentally-induced cortisol stress reactivity are predictive of the development of PTSD symptomatology in response to trauma...

Background: Sleeping problems, their consequences and implications constitute a serious but rarely studied issue in the context of soldier deployment. Method: A representative sample of 1478 soldiers of the German armed forces was assessed 12 months after return from deployment. Sleeping problems (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; PSQI), the presence...

Introduction Studies have shown that mental health risks related to military deployment depend on specific risk factors. Especially stressful experiences (SE) and lack of social support (SS) have been associated with deployment-related increases in mental disorders. Less is known about difficulties in emotion regulation (DER) in this context despit...

Einleitung: Aversive Kindheitserlebnisse sind ein Risikofaktor sowohl für die Entstehung von Substanzstörungen als auch der Posttraumatischen Belastungsstörung (PTBS) nach belastenden Ereignissen. Das Auftreten von PTBS-Symptomen nach belastenden Ereignissen ist zudem mit einem erhöhten Risiko für Substanzstörungen assoziiert. Bisher fehlen Längssc...

Theoretischer Hintergrund: Noch immer ist wenig uber die empirische Struktur von traumatischem Stress und die Assoziationen zwischen Stressoren und psychischen Erkrankungen bekannt, insbesondere nach militarischen Auslandseinsatzen. Methode: 1483 Bundeswehrsoldaten, die 2009/2010 in Afghanistan eingesetzt waren, wurden mittels der militarischen Ver...

Military studies investigating the prevalence of substance use (SU) and substance use disorders (SUD) and the relation between SU and mental disorders often lack a comprehensive assessment of SU, SUD and mental disorders and comparable groups of deployed and non-deployed personnel. There is also limited data regarding SU and SUD in the German milit...

Background: Excessive use of legal substances (LSU) is highly prevalent in military populations and associated with a higher risk for mental disorders [1]. Deployment is potentially related to both LSU and mental disorders [2]. Deployment might therefore be a crucial factor when attempting to explain possible associations. This study aims to examin...

Internationale Studien deuten auf ein ansteigendes Risiko für Posttraumatische Belastungsstörungen (PTBS) bei Soldaten mit zunehmender Dauer des Auslandseinsatzes hin. In der vorliegenden Arbeit soll der Frage nachgegangen werden, ob das PTBS-Erkrankungsrisiko mit der Länge der Einsatzdauer im Zusammenhang steht. Grundlage für diese Analyse ist ein...

International studies suggest a growing risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with an increasing duration of deployment. There are no data available for the German armed forces that would allow an assessment of the average mission duration of about 4 months. Analyses are based on a stratified random sample of 1,483 ISAF soldiers. Standardize...

Background: Controversy exists regarding the prevalence of military mission-related PTSD and other mental disorders among deployed soldiers. Methods:􀀃􀀥􀁄􀁖􀁈􀁇􀀃􀁒􀁑􀀃􀁄􀀃􀁕􀁄􀁑􀁇􀁒􀁐􀀃􀁖􀁗􀁕􀁄􀁗􀁌􀂿􀁈􀁇􀀃􀁖􀁄􀁐􀁓􀁏􀁈􀀃􀁒􀁉􀀃􀁑􀀠􀀔􀀘􀀜􀀜􀀃􀀪􀁈􀁕􀁐􀁄􀁑􀀃􀁖􀁒􀁏􀁇􀁌􀁈􀁕􀁖􀀃􀀋􀁕􀁈􀁖􀁓􀁒􀁑􀁖􀁈􀀃􀁕􀁄􀁗􀁈􀀃􀀋􀀵􀀵􀀌􀀃􀀜􀀖􀀈􀀏􀀃􀁑􀀠􀀔􀀗􀀛􀀖􀀌􀀏􀀃 􀁚􀁈􀀃􀁄􀁖􀁖􀁈􀁖􀁖􀁈􀁇􀀃􀁖􀁘􀁅􀁍􀁈􀁆􀁗􀁖􀀃􀀔􀀕􀀃􀁐􀁒􀁑􀁗􀁋􀁖􀀃􀁄􀁉􀁗􀁈􀁕􀀃􀁇􀁈􀁓􀁏􀁒􀁜􀁐􀁈􀁑􀁗􀀃􀁗􀁒􀀃􀀤􀁉􀁊􀁋􀁄􀁑􀁌􀁖􀁗􀁄􀁑􀀃􀁄􀁑􀁇􀀃􀁆􀁒􀁐􀁓􀁄􀁕􀁈􀁇􀀃􀂿􀁑􀁇􀁌􀁑􀁊􀁖􀀃􀁗􀁒􀀃􀁆􀁒􀁑􀁗􀁕􀁒􀁏􀁖􀀃􀁒􀁉􀀃􀁑􀀠􀀜􀀖􀀕...

Little is known about the frequency of traumatic event exposure and the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among German soldiers serving in Afghanistan. We studied a random sample consisting of 1599 soldiers who had served in the 2009/2010 ISAF mission in Afghanistan, stratified by deployment location and unit. Twelve months after...

Investigation of the prevalence, incidence, and determinants of post‐traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and other mental disorders associated with military deployment in international missions poses several methodological and procedural challenges. This paper describes the design and sampling strategies, instruments, and experimental procedures appl...

We examined whether differences in abstinence orientation are related to differences in treatment patterns by analyzing assessment data from a total of 161 German treatment settings offering opioid maintenance therapy. According to an index value, settings were divided into low (LAOs), medium (MAOs), and high abstinence-oriented settings (HAOs). Lo...

PREMOS is a prospective-longitudinal study program with up to 4 waves of assessment over a time period of up to 7 years. PREMOS is also a clinical-epidemiological study due to its reliance on a nationwide representative random sampling of institutions and patients.The paper describes aims, methods, response rates, and statistical issues. The study...

The paper describes the social, clinical, and treatment characteristics of substitution patients in Germany and provides at the same time the baseline data of the PREMOS patients at the time of their inclusion. At baseline patients reported a mean of 15.4 years of opioid use and a previous maintenance treatment of 5.8 years in average. 40% were rat...

The six-year long-term course and outcome was assessed for 1.624 patients in opiate maintenance treatment in Germany and a further 470 patients regarding at least primary course and outcome. Additionally information of 131 deceased patients was documented. After 6 years (t3) primary outcome reveals that 70% patients of the total sample was still in...

Background: Abstinence of illegal opioids as well as of the drug is considered as a core treatment goal of opioid maintenance treatment in Germany. Little is known though about how often this challenging aim is effectively reached as well as whether this treatment goal is associated with significant risks for patients. Method: N = 2.284 eligible pa...

Background and aims: The German care system for Opiate Maintenance Treatment is characterized by a considerable degree of variability that remains up to now poorly described. Methods: Selected characteristics of n = 161 settings participating in the PREMOS project are described. Settings were stratified by size and number of personnel. Data were co...