Senior Lecturer | Representative of the W2 Professorship | Head of Research Group
Clinical Psychology and Psychological Treatment
Licensed psychological psychotherapist (CBT)
Office hours:
by appointment via e-mail.
Postal address:
Leopoldstraße 13
80802 Munich
The aim of my research is to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms of change and the processes that maintain mental disorders. I attach great importance to the integration of my clinical-psychotherapeutic and scientific work - always with the idea of optimizing the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of mental disorders.
The individualization of psychological interventions in prevention and intervention is an elementary component in increasing their effectiveness for individual sufferers. In my research, I am therefore investigating the detection of transdiagnostic risk factors and predictors of the occurrence of depressive and anxiety disorders in particular. I investigate how rumination, emotion regulation, aversive childhood experiences or maladaptive personality traits, for example, affect (un)favorable treatment outcomes. In addition, I analyze the potential of network models and parameters for the selection of treatment strategies and use data from passive sensing, actigraphy and Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) in addition to classical behavioral parameters.
Mental health or recovery manifests itself in many different processes of psychological experience and behavior. For this reason, my scientific work focuses on a wide variety of mechanisms and their development before, during and after treatment: these include language (large language models), non-verbal synchronicity in therapeutic dyads, but also transdiagnostic processes such as emotion regulation or cognitive dysfunctions. I investigate these processes in various disorders such as depression, anxiety and psychotic disorders as well as in various therapeutic approaches such as behavioral or schema therapy or modular therapy approaches.
Funk, J., Kopf-Beck, J., Takano, K., Watkins, E.R., & Ehring, T. (2025). Can an app designed to reduce repetitive negative thinking decrease depression and anxiety in young people? Results from a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 87: 102014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2024.102014
Hagenberg, J., Brückl, T., Erhart, M., Kopf-Beck, J., Ködel, M., Rehawi, G., Röh-Karamihalev, S., Sauer, S., Yusupov, N., Rex-Haffner, M., Spoormaker, V., Sämann, P., Binder, E., Knauer-Arloth, J. (2024). Dissecting depression: Multi-omics clustering uncovers immune-related subgroups and cell-type specific dysregulation. Brain, Behavior and Immunity. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2024.09.013.
Egan, S., Greene, D., Callaghan, T., Raghav, S., Funk, J., Badenbach, T., Talam, S., McEvoy, P., Ehring, T., Kopf-Beck, J. (2024). Worry and rumination as a transdiagnostic target: A co-produced systematic review and meta-analysis. Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2024.2369936.
Tamm, J., Takano, K., Just, L., Ehring, T., Rosenkranz, T., Kopf-Beck, J. (2024). Ecological momentary assessment versus weekly questionnaire assessment for measuring depressive symptoms in a clinical trial. Depression and Anxiety. https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/9191823.
Funk, J., Takano, K., Babl, M., Goldstein, R., Oberwestersberger, R., Kopf-Beck, J., Rohleder, N., Ehring, T. (2024). Can an intervention designed to reduce repetitive negative thinking alter the response to a psychosocial stressor? A randomized controlled study. Behaviour Research and Therapy. 104547. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2024.104547.
Kopf-Beck, J., Müller, C. L., Tamm, J., Fietz, J., Rek, N., Just, L., Spock, Z., Weweck, K., Takano, K., Rein, M., Keck, M.E., Egli, S. (2024). Effectiveness of schema therapy vs cognitive behavioral therapy vs supportive therapy for depression in an inpatient and day clinic setting: A randomized clinical trial. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 93(1), 24–35. https://doi.org/10.1159/000535492.
Gussmann, E., Lindner, C., Lucae, S., Falkai, P., Padberg, F., Egli, S., Kopf-Beck, J. (2023). Targeting metacognitive change mechanisms in acute inpatients with psychotic symptoms: Feasibility and acceptability of a modularized group intervention. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37741946/.
Gussmann, E., Lucae, S., Falkai, P., Padberg, F., Egli, S., Kopf-Beck, J. (2023). Developing a mechanism-based therapy for acute psychiatric inpatients with psychotic symptoms: An Intervention Mapping approach. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 14:1160075. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1160075.
Yusupov, N., Dieckmann, L., Erhart, M., Sauer, S., Rex-Haffner, M., Kopf-Beck, J., Brückl, T., Czamara, D. Binder, E. (2023). Transdiagnostic evaluation of epigenetic age acceleration and burden of psychiatric disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology, 48, 1409–1417.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-023-01579-3.
Funk, J., Kopf-Beck, J., Watkins, E., Ehring, T. (2023). Does an app designed to reduce repetitive negative thinking decrease depression and anxiety in young people? (RETHINK): A randomized controlled prevention trial. Trials, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-023-07295-z.
Rek, K., Kappelmann, N., Zimmermann, J., Rein, M., Egli, S., & Kopf-Beck, J. (2023). Evaluating the role of maladaptive personality traits in schema therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy for depression. Psychological medicine, 53(10), 4405–4414. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291722001209.
Kuzminskaite, E., Gathier, A., Cuijpers, P., … Kopf-Beck, J., … Vinkers, C.H. (2022). Treatment efficacy and effectiveness in adults with major depressive disorder and childhood trauma history: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 9(11), 860–873. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(22)00227-9.
Paetsch, A., Moultrie, J., Kappelmann, N., Fietz, J., Bernstein, D. P., & Kopf-Beck, J. (2021). Psychometric properties of the German version of the Young Positive Schema Questionnaire (YPSQ) in the general population and psychiatric patients. Journal of Personality Assessment, 104(4), 522–531. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2021.1966020.
Kopf-Beck, J., & Fietz, J. (2021). Moving toward a process-oriented perspective in the personalized treatment of depression. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 271(3), 413-415. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-021-01249-9.
Kappelmann, N., Müller-Myhsok, B. & Kopf-Beck, J. (2021). Adapting the randomised controlled trial (RCT) for precision medicine: Introducing the nested-precision RCT (npRCT). Trials, 22(13). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-020-04965-0.
Erhardt, N.M., Fietz, J., Kopf-Beck, J., Kappelmann, N., Brem, A.-K. (2021). Separating EEG correlates of stress: Cognitive effort, time pressure, and social-evaluative threat. European Journal of Neuroscience, 55(9), 2464–2473. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.15211.
Brandi, M.-L., Lahnakoski, J., Kopf-Beck, J., Nolte, T., Brueckl, T., Schilbach, L. (2021). Imagery of negative interpersonal experiences influence the neural mechanisms of social interaction. Neuropsychologia, 160, 107923. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107923.
Kopf-Beck, J., Zimmermann, P., Egli, S., Rein, M., Kappelmann, N., Fietz, J., Tamm, J., Rek, K., Lucae, S, Brem, A.-K., Sämann, P., Schilbach, L., Keck, M. E. (2020). Schema therapy versus cognitive behavioral therapy versus individual supportive therapy for depression in an inpatient and day clinic setting: Study protocol of the OPTIMA-RCT. BMC Psychiatry, 20(1). 506. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02880-x.
Kappelmann, N., Rein, M.L., Fietz, J., Mayberg, H.S., Craighead, W.E., Dunlop, B.W., Nemeroff, C.B., Keller, M., Klein, D., Arnow, B., Husain, N., Jarrett, R., Vittengl, J., Parker, G., Dekker, J., Keck, M.E., Kopf-Beck, J. (2020). Psychotherapy or medication for depression? Using individual symptom meta-analyses to derive a Symptom-Oriented Therapy (SOrT) metric for a personalized psychiatry. BMC Medicine, 18(1), 170. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-020-01623-9.
Keck, M. E., Kappelmann, N., & Kopf-Beck, J. (2018). Translational research as prerequisite for personalized psychiatry. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 268(3), 215–217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-018-0885-3.
Ditlmann, R. K., & Kopf-Beck, J. (2019). The meaning of being German: An inductive approach to national identity. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 7(1), 423–447. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v7i1.557.
Kopf-Beck, J., Gaisbauer, F., & Dengler, S. (2017). Shame on me? Shame on you! Emotional reactions to cinematic portrayals of the Holocaust. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 5(2), 367–395. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v5i2.355.
Kopf-Beck, J., Gaisbauer, F.; Dengler, S. (2013). Engaging with German history: Reactions of the third post-war generation to cinematic representations of the Holocaust. Conflict & communication online, 12/1.
Kopf-Beck, J. (2011): Human rights orientation and modern anti-Semitism. Conflict & communication online, 10/1.
Egli, S., Frieß, E., Graf, P., Hoehn, D., Kopf-Beck., J., Rein, M.L., Ruderer, A., Szesny-Mahlau, N., Zimmermann, P., Keck, M.E. (2019). Schematherapie der Depression. Ein Behandlungskonzept für das (teil-)stationäre Setting. Göttingen: hogrefe.
Kopf-Beck, J. (2015). Identity narratives and group-based emotions. Dissertation. University of Konstanz.
Kopf-Beck, J. (2014). Der Holocaust im Film. Zwischen Aufklärung und Distanzierung. In: M.Detzner and A. Drücker (Eds): Antisemitismus – ein gefährliches Erbe mit vielen Gesichtern. Handreichung zu Theorie und Praxis, herausgegeben im Auftrag des IDA e.V., Düsseldorf: Eigenverlag.
Kopf-Beck, J. (2013). Der Holocaust im Film: Dokumentation des Untersuchungsmaterials einer quasi-experimentellen Studie. Diskussionsbeiträge der Projektgruppe Friedensforschung Konstanz, 75.