Manfred Beutel

Maintaining quality of life, psychological well-being, a positive attitude and social participation are crucial aspects of healthy ageing. Resilience refers to the capacity to maintain mental well-being and social functioning in the face of inevitable functional decline and somatic illnesses in the course of ageing.

At the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy of the Mainz University Medical Centre, we strive to identify trajectories in how psychosocial processes (e.g. childhood adversities and marginal social position, trauma and losses) translate into biological processes over the life span. We determine resilience factors for psychological well-being and social functioning in population-based (GHS) and clinical cohorts (e.g. CVSS), including interactions of sex and gender. Based on numerous preventive clinical trials, we want to identify targets for interventions at an individual level (personalised), as well as at the population and healthcare system level to reverse risk factors for premature ageing.

Research website

Positions held

• Since 2010: Founder and Director, Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Training Programme at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz
• 2015 - 2017: Vice Dean of Research, University Medical Center, Mainz
• Since 2007: Co-PI, Steering Committee of the Gutenberg Health Study
• Since 2004: Director, Dept. of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Mainz
• 2001: Fulbright Scholarship Visiting Professor, Weill Medical College, New York
• 1997 - 2004: Professor for Psychotherapy Research, Vice Director, Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Gießen
• 2012: Director, Psychosomatic Hospital, Rhön-Klinikum, Bad Neustadt
• 1986 - 1994: Residency, Dept. of Psychosomatic Medicine, Technical University of Munich and Harlachin
• 1981 - 1986: Assistant, Institute for Rehabilitation Psychology, University of Freiburg

Education

• 1992: Habilitation, Board certification in Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Technical University Munich
• 1992: Psychoanalyst (DPV, IPA)
• 1986: Doctoral degree in Medicine (MD), University of Freiburg (summa cum laude)
• 1981: Diploma in Psychology, University of Freiburg

Selected publications by Manfred Beutel

Ernst M, Werner AM, Brähler E, Wild PS, Faber J, Merzenich H and Beutel ME (2023) Posttraumatic growth after childhood cancer: Psychometric evaluation of a five-item short form and associations with mental health. J Psychosom Res, 164:111099 Link

Ernst M, Niederer D, Werner AM, Czaja SJ, Mikton C, Ong AD, Rosen T, Brähler E and Beutel ME (2022) Loneliness before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Am Psychol, 77:660–677 Link  

Otten D, Ernst M, Werner AM, Tibubos AN, Reiner I, Brähler E, Wiltink J, Michal M, Nagler M, Wild PS, Münzel T, König J, Lackner KJ, Peiffer N and Beutel ME (2022) Depressive symptoms predict the incidence of common chronic diseases in women and men in a representative community sample. Psychol Med, 21:1–9 Link 

Tibubos AN, Otten D, Beutel ME and Brähler E (2022) Validation of the personal attributes questionnaire-8: Gender expression and mental distress in the German population in 2006 and 2018. Int J Public Health, 67:1604510 Link  

Unterrainer JM, Domschke K, Rahm B, Wiltink J, Schulz A, Pfeiffer N, Lackner KJ, Münzel T, Wild PS and Beutel M (2018) Subclinical levels of anxiety but not depression are associated with planning performance in a large population-based sample. Psychol Med, 48:168–174 Link