Björn Elsner

Postdoctoral researcher

I work as a psychological psychotherapist (cognitive behavioral therapy) at the outpatient clinic for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and as a researcher in the clinical psychology unit. I am especially interested in the prediction of individual therapy courses and in approaches to optimize cognitive behavioral therapy for patients with OCD. I investigate effectiveness and mechanisms of action of cognitive behavioral therapy using psychophysiological, experimental and behavioral methods as well as routine data accessed during therapy. Moreover, I am interested in pharmacology and pharmacotherapy for mental disorders. I mainly teach medicine and pharmacology in the bachelor psychology program.

Areas of interest and expterise

  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder
  • Effectiveness
  • Pavlovian conditioning
  • Exposure and response prevention
  • Pharmacology

Contact

E-Mail: bjoern.elsner@hu-berlin.de
Web: https://www.psychologie.hu-berlin.de/de/1694051/1689582

Publications

2024

Reuter, B., Miano, A., Wassermann, J., & Elsner, B. (2024). Why does exposure-based therapy fail in some individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder? Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 24(8), 723-726. https://doi.org/10.1080/14737175.2024.2365949

Jüres, F., Kaufmann, C., Riesel, A., Grützmann, R., Heinzel, S., Elsner, B., Bey, K., Wagner, M., Kathmann, N., & Klawohn, J. (2024). Heart rate and heart rate variability in obsessive-compulsive disorder: Evidence from patients and unaffected first-degree relatives. Biological Psychology, 189, 108786. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2024.108786

2023

Reuter, B. & Elsner, B. (2023). Differentialdiagnostik und Komorbidität. In U. Voderholzer, N. Kathmann & B. Reuter (Hrsg.), Praxishandbuch Zwangsstörung und verwandte Störungen (1. Auflage, S. 37-52). München: Elsevier.

Elsner, B. (2023). Psychologische Theorien. In U. Voderholzer, N. Kathmann & B. Reuter (Hrsg.), Praxishandbuch Zwangsstörung und verwandte Störungen (1. Auflage, S. 54-58). München: Elsevier.

Elsner, B. (2023). Wirkfaktoren und Prädiktoren des Therapieerfolgs. In U. Voderholzer, N. Kathmann & B. Reuter (Hrsg.), Praxishandbuch Zwangsstörung und verwandte Störungen (1. Auflage, S. 168-171). München: Elsevier.

Elsner, B. (2023). Therapiedauer und -dosis, Stepped Care. In U. Voderholzer, N. Kathmann & B. Reuter (Hrsg.), Praxishandbuch Zwangsstörung und verwandte Störungen (1. Auflage, S. 171-175). München: Elsevier.

Elsner, B. (2023). Wie wirkt Exposition? Eine Studie zur Rolle von Habituation und Erwartungsverletzung für den Therapieerfolg bei Menschen mit Zwangsstörung. Z aktuell, 2/2023 Nr. 111.

Schulze, D., Reuter, B., Elsner, B., & Kathmann, N. (2023). Measurement Invariance Widely Holds for the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. European Journal of Psychological Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000788

Campos-Martin, R., Bey, K., Elsner, B., Reuter, B., Klawohn, J., Philipsen, A., Kathmann, N., Wagner, M., & Ramirez, A. (2023). Epigenome-wide analysis identifies methylome profiles linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder, disease severity, and treatment response. Molecular Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-023-02219-4

2022

Grützmann, R., Klawohn, J., Elsner, B., Reuter, B., Kaufmann, C., Riesel, A., Bey, K., Heinzel, S., & Kathmann, N. (2022). Error-related activity of the sensorimotor network contributes to the prediction of response to cognitive-behavioral therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder. NeuroImage: Clinical, 103216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103216

Balzus, L., Klawohn, J., Elsner, B., Schmidt, S., Brandt, S. A., & Kathmann, N. (2022). Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Modulates Neural Correlates of Performance Monitoring in Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. NeuroImage: Clinical, 103113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103113

Paul, S., Kathmann, N., Elsner, B., Reuter, B., Barnow, S., Simon, D., … & Klawohn, J. (2022). Neural correlates of emotional reactivity predict response to cognitive-behavioral therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 308, 398-406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.04.024

Funk, C. S., Hart, X. M., Gründer, G., Hiemke, C., Elsner, B., Kreutz, R., & Riemer, T. G. (2022). Is Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Relevant for Antidepressant Drug Therapy? Implications From a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis With Focus on Moderating Factors. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13:826138. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.826138

Elsner, B., Jacobi, T., Kischkel, E., Schulze, D., & Reuter, B. (2022). Mechanisms of exposure and response prevention in obsessive-compulsive disorder: effects of habituation and expectancy violation on short-term outcome in cognitive behavioral therapy. BMC Psychiatry, 22(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-022-03701-z

Kathmann, N., Jacobi, T., Elsner, B., & Reuter, B. (2022). Effectiveness of Individual Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Predictors of Outcome in Adult Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1159/000520454

Elsner, B., Reuter, B., Said, M., Linnman, C., Kathmann, N., & Beucke, J. C. (2022). Impaired differential learning of fear versus safety signs in obsessive‐compulsive disorder. Psychophysiology, 59(2), e13956. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13956

2021

Hilbert, K., Jacobi, T., Kunas, S. L., Elsner, B., Reuter, B., Lueken, U., & Kathmann, N. (2021). Identifying CBT non-response among OCD outpatients: A machine-learning approach. Psychotherapy Research, 31(1), 52-62. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2020.1839140

2020

Elsner, B., Wolfsberger, F., Srp, J., Windsheimer, A., Becker, L., Jacobi, T., Kathmann, N., & Reuter, B. (2020). Long-Term Stability of Benefits of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Depends on Symptom Remission During Treatment. Clinical Psychology in Europe, 2(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.32872/cpe.v2i1.2785

2016

Reuter, B., Elsner, B., Möllers, D., & Kathmann, N. (2016). Decomposing mechanisms of abnormal saccade generation in schizophrenia patients: Contributions of volitional initiation, motor preparation, and fixation release. Psychophysiology, 53(11), 1712-1720. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12729