Dr.
Birgit
Kleim, PhD
Arbeitsgruppenleiterin Projekt Stress-Resilienz (SNF)
b.kleim@psychologie.uzh.ch
Office:
Curriculum vitae
Personal Information
| Name | Birgit Kleim |
| Office: | University of Zurich, Dept. of Psychology Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Binzmuhlestr. 14/ Box 26 CH-8050 Zurich, Switzerland E-mail: b.kleim@access.uzh.ch |
Research Interests
Diagnosis, screening and early prediction of chronic posttrauma psychopathology: Are cognitive and physiological factors predictive?
Longitudinal investigations into screening and cognitive and physiological predictors of chronic posttrauma psychopathology
Resilience to chronic stress and traumatic events: Who is resilient and who succumbs to stress?
Current large-scale longitudinal study on accident and emergency personnel with a focus on psychological and biological (neuroendocrinological and genetic) predictors of stress resilience
Psychotherapy Research: How does psychotherapy for anxiety disorders work and what are the active ingredients?
Current studies on the neurobiological correlates of successful cognitive therapy for PTSD (fMRI) and on memory consolidation following exposure therapy for specific phobia
Education
| CPsychol (2009) | Institute of Psychiatry and Maudsley Hospital, King’s College London Chartered Clinical Psychologist, British Psychological Society (chartered 02/2009) Psychological Psychotherapist, German approbation (2010) |
| PhD (2006) | King’s College London, Psychology Thesis: Cognitive and physiological predictors of PTSD, depression, and phobia following assault |
| MA (2002) | Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Clinical Psychology |
| BA (1999) | Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Psychology Academic year in Canada |
ACADEMIC and CLINICAL POSITIONS
| University of Zürich, Department of Psychology |
Senior researcher and research group leader (SNF), 2010- |
| Columbia University, New York, Department of Psychology |
Visiting research fellow in Prof George Bonanno’s Emotion, Stress and Human Relationship Lab, 06-07/2010 |
| University of Basel, Department of Psychology |
Lecturer (“Oberassistentin”) 2009- 2010 |
| University of New South Wales, Sydney, Department of Psychology |
Visiting Fellow in Prof Richard Bryant’s PTSD lab, 03-06/2006 |
| Kings’ College London, Department of Psychology |
Research Fellow in Anxiety Disorders, 2006- 2009 PhD student (Supervisor: Prof Anke Ehlers), 2003- 2005 |
| Freiburg University, Department of Psychiatry |
Research Fellow and Trainee Clinical Psychologist (2002-2003) |
| Freiburg University, Department of Psychiatry |
Research and Teaching Assistant, Schizophrenia Research Unit (1999-2002) |
| Brock University, Department of Psychology |
Sleep Laboratory Research Assistant (1998- 1999) |
HONORS and AWARDS
Young Investigator Travel Award, “Changing People, Changing Brains”, International Conference by Volkswagen Stiftung and Zukunftskolleg Konstanz (2010)
Career development award (“Ambizione”) by the Swiss National Science Foundation (2009)
“Fast Track: Excellence in Science”, Women Career Achievement Program funded by the Robert Bosch Stiftung (2009)
Young Investigator Award from the German Society of Traumatic Stress Studies, DeGPT (2008)
Conference Grant from the Psychiatry Research Trust (2007)
Graduate prize at the 21st Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies in Toronto, Canada (2005)
PhD stipend by the Psychiatry Research Trust (2003)
Travel award by the Alumni Association, University of Freiburg, for an internship at the Institute of Psychiatry, London (2000)
Award for Academic Year in Canada by the German Academic Foreign Office (1998).
RESEARCH
Grants
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) personal funding. "Psychological and biological mechanisms of stress resilience" (CHF 556,253). Principal investigator (2009-2011).
Young Investigator Project Grant, University of Basel. "Improving extinction learning: Does sleep promote emotional learning during exposure therapy for specific phobia?" (CHF 16,409). Principal investigator (2009-2010).
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Bilateral Research Grant, joint submission with Prof Richard Bryant (ARC). "Trauma and unwanted memories"(£75,742). Principal investigator (2008 – 2010).
Psychiatry Research Trust Research Grant. “Psychological consequences of assault: predictors of PTSD, phobia and depression. (£69,864). Named PhD student (2003 – 2005) PI: Prof Anke Ehlers).
Publications
Kleim, B., Graham, B., Fihosy, S., Stott, R. & Ehlers, A. (under revision). Probing trauma survivors’ thoughts about the future: future event simulation and memory specificity in posttraumatic stress disorder. Emotion.
Kleim, B., Ehring, T. & Ehlers. (under revision). Enhanced perceptual priming of trauma-related pictures predicts intrusive memories in PTSD. Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
Kleim, B., Gonzalo, D., Ehlers, A. (under revision). The Depressive Attribution Questionnaire: Validation of a new short measure of depressogenic attributions. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment
Kleim, B. & Ehlers, A. (under revision). Predicting PTSD, depression and phobia following assault: a structural equation modeling study. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy
Kleim, B. & Westphal, M. (2010). Cognitive restructuring in posttraumatic stress disorder. International Encyclopedia for PTSD. Invited contribution to The Encyclopedia of Trauma. Figley, C. (Ed.). London: Sage.
Kleim, B. & Jobson, L. (2010). Ethnicity, Cultural Roles and their Relevance for Clinical Psychology: The Example of Posttrauma Adjustment and Psychopathology. In Crennan, J. (Ed.). Race and Ethnicity: Cultural Roles, Spiritual Practices and Social Challenges. New York: Nova Publishers.
Vriends, N. & Kleim, B. (2010). Soziale Phobie. In Lehrbuch der Verhaltenstherapie, Band 4: Materialien für die Psychotherapie. Meinlschmidt, G., Schneider, S. & Margraf, J (Eds). Springer.
Kleim, B., Wilhelm, F.H., Glucksman, E. & Ehlers, A. (2010, in press). Heart rate reactivity to script-driven imagery predicts PTSD in female, but not in male assault survivors. Psychosomatic Medicine
Ehring, T., Kleim, B. & Ehlers, A. (2010, in press). Combining clinical studies and analogue experiments to investigate cognitive mechanisms in posttraumatic stress disorder. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy.
Kleim, B. & Ehlers. A. (2009). Evidence for a curvilinear relationship between posttraumatic growth and posttrauma psychopathology. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 22, 1, 45-52.
Kleim, B. & Ehlers, A. (2008). Reduced autobiographical memory specificity predicts depression and posttraumatic stress disorder after recent trauma. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 2, 231-42.
Kleim, B., Wallott, F. & Ehlers, A. (2008). Are trauma memories disjointed from other autobiographical memories in PTSD? An experimental investigation. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 36, 2,221-234.
Kleim, B., Vauth, R., Adam, G., Stieglitz, R.-D., Hayward, P. & Corrigan, P.(2008). Perceived stigma predicts low self-efficacy and maladaptive coping in schizophrenia. Journal of Mental Health, 17, 5, 482-491.
Ehring, T., Kleim, B., Ehlers, A., Foa, E. & Clark, D. (2007). Screening for posttraumatic stress disorder. An empirical comparison of symptom measures. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 195, 12, 1004-1012.
Kleim, B., Ehlers, A. & Glucksman, E. (2007). Early predictors of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder in assault survivors. Psychological Medicine, 37, 1457-1467.
Vauth, R., Kleim, B., Wirtz, M. & Corrigan, P. (2007). Self-efficacy and empowerment as outcomes of self-stigmatizing and coping in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Research, 15, 71-80.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Reviewer
- Anxiety, Stress and Coping
- Applied Cognitive Psychology
- BMC Psychiatry
- Behavioural and Cognitive Therapy
- British Journal of Clinical Psychology
- Cognition and Emotion
- Depression and Anxiety
- European Psychiatry
- International Journal of Psychology
- Journal of Behaviour Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry
- Journal of Traumatic Stress
- Journal of Anxiety Disorders
- Memory
- Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy
- Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience
- Verhaltenstherapie
Grant Program Reviewer
- Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK
- International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, ISTSS, USA
Association Memberships
- Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, ABCT
- British Psychological Society, BPS
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychologie, DGP
- International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies, ISTSS
Organised Symposia
- Co-chair of a symposium titled "Cognitive and Emotion-Regulatory Mechanisms Related to Resilience to Mood and Anxiety Disorders" at the World Congress of Behavioral and Cognitive Psychotherapy, Boston, 2010
- Convenor and chair of a symposium titled "Innovative ways of investigating how and why patients change during CBT", at the Annual Convention of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, ABCT, New York, 2009
- Convenor and co-chair of a symposium titled "Current perspectives on the role of cognitive factors in the maintenance and treatment of PTSD" at the Annual Convention of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Chicago, 2008
- Chair of a symposium titled "Recent perspectives on development and treatment of PTSD" at the World Congress of Psychology, Berlin, 2008
- Convenor of a symposium titled "Cognitive mechanisms in PTSD" at the World Congress of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapy, Barcelona, 2007
- Co-chair of a symposium titled "Who develops PTSD and who is resilient?" at the Annual Convention of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Hollywood, 2006