Christina Nuhn is the winner of the EAPM Young Investigator Award 2025 sponsored by Elsevier

Christina Nuhn is the winner of EAPM Young Investigator Award 2025 sponsored by Elsevier

Christina Nuhn

Summary of the award-winning work:

Given that deficits in emotional processing are a common factor in individuals with persistent physical symptoms (PPS), it is essential to prioritize methods that facilitate the report of emotions. The Photovoice-technique (PV) represents a potential solution: Participants take photographs of aspects in their environment that they consider to mirror, symbolize or to be associated with a target experience (e.g., the experience of physical symptoms and associated emotions and thoughts). So far, hardly any experimental studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of PV on the report of emotions.  In this study, we aimed to examine whether PV facilitates the report of emotions in individuals with PPS. In the current study, we randomly assigned 169 persons with persistent physical symptoms to either a PV group (experimental group) or one of two control groups: a writing group or a passive control group. The PV group took daily photographs related to their symptoms and coping, the writing group wrote keywords, and the passive control group had no task. After a 7-day period, all participants completed an online writing task about their symptoms and coping, which was analyzed for the number of emotion words used. Participants in the PV group used more (emotion) words in the writing task than the control groups. Specifically, the PV group used more positive and fewer negative emotion words. However, no significant group differences were found for self-reported affect and self-disclosure. PV holds promise to facilitate the report of emotions in a more positive, nuanced and detailed manner and may be particularly valuable in a therapeutic setting.

Christina Nuhn studied Business Psychology at the University of Osnabrück and the University of Kassel in Germany. She then studied Clinical Psychology at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz (Germany). Currently, she is a PhD student in Clinical Psychology within a three-year doctoral program at the Philipps-University of Marburg (Germany). Her research focuses on the development of innovative internet-based interventions to facilitate emotion regulation in patients with chronic pain. Recognizing the significant influence of culture on the experience of physical symptoms, Christina Nuhn also aims to promote the transcultural competence of psychotherapists through internet-based training and innovative assessment methods Additionally, she is enrolled in a Clinical Training Program for Psychological Psychotherapy (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and practices at the Outpatient Clinic for Psychotherapy Marburg (Germany).

Christina Nuhn will give a brief lecture at the Award Ceremony of the EAPM Conference in Munich on Friday, September 12, 2025.