Elisabeth Schanche
Elisabeth Schanche, førsteamanuensis, UiB
Main content
- Mindfulness based treatments
Training of therapeutic skills
Short-term dynamic and integrative psychotherapy
Treatment of complex trauma (sensory motor psychotherapy)
Research interests: My main research interest is the study of mindfulness based approaches, with a focus on preventing recurrent depression I am myself certified as an instructor within Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and are also involved as a group therapist within an ongoing research project. This project is in collaboration between the Institute of Clinical Psychology, and the Institute of Biological and Medical Psychology (Lin Sørensen). The main focus of the project is understanding processes that contribute to the successful treatment of recurrent depression within the eight-week program of MBCT. We investigate what effects MBCT has on attention and emotional control functions in patients with recurrent Major Depressive Disorder (rMDD) through behavior performance (cognitive testing), brain activation patterns (functional magnetic resonance imaging; fMRI), heart rate variability (HRV), and self-report of emotion regulation difficulties, mindfulness, rumination, attachment, personality traits, self-criticism and self-compassion. Here is a link to the project and the research group involved: mindfulness.b.uib.no
My second main research interest is investigating how to further therapeutic skills in student of clinical psychology. I am currently involved in a project investigating what students learned after being trained in coding emotional arousal and experiencing and then observing and rating a whole course of emotion focused treatment. Each student requited a fellow student who did not participate in this training. Self-efficacy concerning central therapeutic skills and experience of clinical mastery are then registered and compared between the two groups of students. I believe research within therapist training will be of high importance in years to come, contributing to better clinical training within university settings.
Contact information: Elisabeth.Schanche@uib.no; https://www.uib.no/personer/Elisabeth.Schanche#uib-tabs-forskning
