How does the brain react to psychotropic drugs? How does our previous experience influence the effectiveness of treatments? And how can we use this knowledge to improve the treatment of mental illness? Prof. Tilo Kircher at Marburg University Hospital is investigating questions like these
Prof. Dr. med. Tilo Kircher ist Direktor der Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie an der Universität Marburg
A significant proportion of the effect of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy is based on expectation effects.
Prof. Tilo Kircher, Director of the University Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in Marburg
At the Marburg University Hospital for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, of which I’, we treat patients with mental illnesses on our wards and in our outpatient clinic. We employ the whole range of diagnostic and therapeutic options available at a university hospital. I also devote part of my working day to conducting research. This dual role as a medical doctor and a scientist, in my case of psychiatry, psychotherapy and neuroscience, is also described as "clinician scientist".
And there are many exciting questions that my team and I are interested in here:
- How does the brain react to psychotherapy and to psychotropic drugs, and how do our past experiences influence the effectiveness of treatments?
- What role do patients' expectations and past experiences play in the success of treatment? And how can we utilise these effects to improve the treatment of mental illness?
- How do we avoid the harmful effects of negative expectations, fears and worries - so-called nocebo effects?
Answering these questions could make our – already very good – treatments even more effective and tolerable, enabling us to provide even better help for patients, for example patients with depression, but also those with other illnesses.
I studied in Munich, Germany and Seattle, USA. After that, I worked as an assistant physician and then senior physician at the university hospitals for psychiatry and psychotherapy in Munich (LMU) and Tübingen. During this time, I spent two years as a research fellow in London. From 2004 to 2008, I worked as a professor at RWTH Aachen University, and since 2009, I have been working as Director of the University Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in Marburg.
Prof. Tilo Kircher: Physician and scientist
How I settled on the field of psychiatry and psychotherapy
Two questions have preoccupied me ever since I was a young adult. Firstly, how do our highly complex human bodies work, especially the brain? Secondly, I have always known that human life, behaviour and state of mind can’t be solely explained in terms of scientific knowledge, and that there are areas that can be better depicted through the humanities and arts. I have always been interested in literature and a little in philosophy, and these two aspects are ideally combined within the single subject of psychiatry and psychotherapy. As a doctor, I get to learn about the whole spectrum of mental experience from my patients. As a scientist, I can use functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore how experience, behaviour and well-being are represented in the brain.
Why I find placebo research so fascinating
Even as a student and as a young assistant physician, I observed how experienced senior physicians and clinic directors, in internal medicine and psychiatry, created personal contact with the patient, both non-verbally and verbally, through brief physical examinations or when outlining the prospects of recovery. And at the same time, they managed to generate to positive expectations of healing in the patient. This optimistic expectation triggered in patients actually influences their chances of recovery, as we now know from the research. The question of what’s going on in patients' brains and what mechanisms mediate this greater likelihood of recovery from both physical and mental illnesses is extremely fascinating and still largely unresolved. I now have the great privilege of working with a large group of outstanding scientists to investigate these questions, which I would not be able to answer by myself. In our research alliance, every scientist contributes to the research into these compelling questions with his or her own specialist knowledge.
What brings me joy in life
I’m very happy that I’m able to work as a psychiatrist at a university hospital in Germany. I especially enjoy working directly with patients, finding out what moves them in their innermost being, and seeing that our treatment has helped them to feel better. As a scientist, I like to think up new projects because there are so many exciting questions. It also makes me happy when we're presented with the results of the research projects and get to look at them, interpret them and discuss them in a team of co-workers. In this regard, I’m particularly inspired by discussions with colleagues from other disciplines in medicine, typology, neuroscience and other life sciences and learning from their findings.
In my private life, I love being in nature and am happy when I’m spending time with my family.