Gerhard Andersson
Encyclopedia
Gerhard Andersson is a Swedish psychologist, psychotherapist and Professor of clinical psychology at Linköping University
, and Guest Professor at Karolinska Institutet
.
Professor Andersson is one of the most influential researchers in the world on Internet-based psychological treatments. Moreover, his contributions in the field of tinnitus
have enriched the research field widely. Andersson was appointed as a professor at the age of 37, and has been highly productive, having produced more than 270 scientific papers. He is known for his many collaborations with researchers and clinicians and has remained clinically active during his whole career. Gerhard Andersson has been nominated for the Swedish Psychologist Award both in 2009 and in 2011.
Professor Andersson is currently main supervisor of 15 PhD students and co-supervisor for seven PhD students. Until June 2011, 7 former PhD students for whom Professor Andersson has been the main supervisor have been awarded a PhD. Already, one of Professor Andersson’s former PhD students has become a full professor of clinical psychology: Professor Per Carlbring at Umeå University
. Moreover, Professor Andersson has been faculty opponent for several PhD candidates and was external reviewer for several PhD theses in Sweden, but also abroad.
The Swedish approach is different from purely self-administered self-help since it combines the advantages of structured self-help materials with the provision of guidance by an identified therapist. In particular, the role of the therapist is highlighted in the treatment trials conducted by Professor Andersson and his group. The therapist provides support, encouragement, motivation, and answers to patient's questions. Hence, the cognitive-behavioural treatment resembles rather a live treatment than a pure self-help treatment, but is provided via the Internet. A similar way to deliver Internet treatment has been endorsed by other researchers across the world. Despite the important role of the therapist, Internet-delivered treatments require much less therapist time than conventional CBT. Furthermore, Internet-based CBT allows patients to work at their own pace whenever they find the time to work on the material. This procedure gives a lot of responsibility to the patient, which can be helpful for the final treatment outcome. Several studies conducted by Andersson and his colleagues show a high efficacy of the Internet-based treatment approach for very different disorders, e.g. depression, social anxiety, tinnitus. Current studies of the group investigate large sample sizes and compare the efficacy of Internet-delivered CBT with traditional CBT approaches, e.g. face-to-face treatment, group therapy. Due to Andersson's ground-breaking studies on Internet-based approaches to deliver psychotherapy, Sweden is world leading in online-based treatments. The research has generated quite a lot of media attention in Sweden, but also in other countries. Research on psychological treatments on the Internet is available from several other research groups as well.
In 1997, Andersson received the qualification as associate professor. He was appointed full professor in clinical psychology at Linköping University in 2003. Since 2007, Andersson also holds a position as guest professor at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, in the department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry.
During his whole career he has worked part-time as a clinician, mainly in audiology, but also in psychiatry.
is 33 (last updated 2011-06-15).
Linköping University
Linköping University is a state university in Linköping, Sweden. Linköping University was granted full university status in 1975 and is now one of Sweden's larger academic institutions. Education, research and PhD training are the mission of four faculties: Arts and Sciences, Educational...
, and Guest Professor at Karolinska Institutet
Karolinska Institutet
Karolinska institutet is a medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area, Sweden, and one of Europe's largest medical universities...
.
Professor Andersson is one of the most influential researchers in the world on Internet-based psychological treatments. Moreover, his contributions in the field of tinnitus
Tinnitus
Tinnitus |ringing]]") is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound.Tinnitus is not a disease, but a symptom that can result from a wide range of underlying causes: abnormally loud sounds in the ear canal for even the briefest period , ear...
have enriched the research field widely. Andersson was appointed as a professor at the age of 37, and has been highly productive, having produced more than 270 scientific papers. He is known for his many collaborations with researchers and clinicians and has remained clinically active during his whole career. Gerhard Andersson has been nominated for the Swedish Psychologist Award both in 2009 and in 2011.
Professor Andersson is currently main supervisor of 15 PhD students and co-supervisor for seven PhD students. Until June 2011, 7 former PhD students for whom Professor Andersson has been the main supervisor have been awarded a PhD. Already, one of Professor Andersson’s former PhD students has become a full professor of clinical psychology: Professor Per Carlbring at Umeå University
Umeå University
Umeå University is a university in Umeå in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present borders....
. Moreover, Professor Andersson has been faculty opponent for several PhD candidates and was external reviewer for several PhD theses in Sweden, but also abroad.
Internet treatment - the Swedish approach
Gerhard Andersson can further be named as the founding father of the Swedish approach to Internet-delivered cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT). In one of his publications, Andersson et al. (2008, p. 164) refer to the Internet-based approach as:"a therapy that is based on self-help books, guided by an identified therapist which gives feedback and answers to questions, with a scheduling that mirrors face-to-face treatment, and which also can include interactive online features such as queries to obtain passwords in order to get access to treatment modules"The Swedish approach is different from purely self-administered self-help since it combines the advantages of structured self-help materials with the provision of guidance by an identified therapist. In particular, the role of the therapist is highlighted in the treatment trials conducted by Professor Andersson and his group. The therapist provides support, encouragement, motivation, and answers to patient's questions. Hence, the cognitive-behavioural treatment resembles rather a live treatment than a pure self-help treatment, but is provided via the Internet. A similar way to deliver Internet treatment has been endorsed by other researchers across the world. Despite the important role of the therapist, Internet-delivered treatments require much less therapist time than conventional CBT. Furthermore, Internet-based CBT allows patients to work at their own pace whenever they find the time to work on the material. This procedure gives a lot of responsibility to the patient, which can be helpful for the final treatment outcome. Several studies conducted by Andersson and his colleagues show a high efficacy of the Internet-based treatment approach for very different disorders, e.g. depression, social anxiety, tinnitus. Current studies of the group investigate large sample sizes and compare the efficacy of Internet-delivered CBT with traditional CBT approaches, e.g. face-to-face treatment, group therapy. Due to Andersson's ground-breaking studies on Internet-based approaches to deliver psychotherapy, Sweden is world leading in online-based treatments. The research has generated quite a lot of media attention in Sweden, but also in other countries. Research on psychological treatments on the Internet is available from several other research groups as well.
Tinnitus
Gerhard Andersson is one of the world leading researchers in the field of psychologically oriented tinnitus research. His contributions to the field has been influential. For example, Andersson and his colleagues provided the first comprehensive meta-analytic review on psychological treatments of tinnitus in 1999. In the following years, Andersson was interested in basic research as well as in the development and improvement of psychological treatment approaches. Thus, he studied for example cognitive disruptions in tinnitus patients, changes in regional cerebral blood flow or the role of tinnitus loudness for perceived distress. Moreover, Andersson and his colleagues developed several treatment concepts to reduce tinnitus distress based on cognitive behavioural therapy. At his department, Andersson is currently leading a tinnitus research group who has published recent papers on tinnitus, e.g. a meta-analysis on cognitive-behavioural treatments for tinnitus or a questionnaire on tinnitus acceptance.Health psychology
As a clinical psychologist working in the field of behavioral medicine for over 15 years, Andersson has devoted much of his research to the study of how behavioral, cognitive, biological, and social variables influence health and illness. His research in this area covers a broad range of conditions, including chronic pain, cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, dizziness, hearing loss, tinnitus, burn damages, and health anxiety. Andersson’s work focuses primarily on the development and evaluation of behavioral and cognitive therapies for medical conditions, but his research in health psychology also concerns the study of how cognitive, behavioral and genetic factors are involved in health and prevention of illness. A particular interest of his is cognitive aspects and to apply various theories and methods from cognitive psychology in the study of health problems. Among many recent activities, Andersson is currently involved in studies on the role of acceptance in chronic medical conditions, including the first clinical trials on acceptance oriented CBT for tinnitus.Other research
Andersson is also active in research fields such as psychotherapy research, the psychology of religion and meta-analysis, among others.Education
Professor Andersson received his education at Uppsala University, Department of Psychology, and graduated in 1991 (M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology). His first Ph.D. was in Clinical Psychology (1995) and his second Ph.D. was in Medicine (2000). Most recently he has completed a B.A. in Theology (2010).In 1997, Andersson received the qualification as associate professor. He was appointed full professor in clinical psychology at Linköping University in 2003. Since 2007, Andersson also holds a position as guest professor at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, in the department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry.
During his whole career he has worked part-time as a clinician, mainly in audiology, but also in psychiatry.
Publications
Professor Andersson has published more than 270 scientific papers, 7 books and more than 22 book chapters. His present h-indexH-index
The h-index is an index that attempts to measure both the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or scholar. The index is based on the set of the scientist's most cited papers and the number of citations that they have received in other publications...
is 33 (last updated 2011-06-15).