Traumatic childhood experiences can have a strong impact on lifelong health. In the "Kids2Health" research project, scientists from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin are developing therapeutic approaches for children who have had stressful experiences at an early age. They investigate the biological traces that such experiences leave behind and how children can be treated in the best possible way. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the project with more than five million euros until 2021.
Children who have experienced stressful or traumatic experiences have a higher risk of falling ill psychologically or physically later than people with a happy childhood. The team led by Prof. Dr. Christine Heim, project manager of "Kids2Health" and director of the Institute of Medical Psychology at the Charité, is investigating the biological mechanisms behind this increased risk and whether this early "programming" of the body can be reversed.
Prof. Christine Heim is a Member of the Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin
Prof. Dr. Christine Heim
Direktorin des Instituts für Medizinische Psychologie
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
t: +49 30 450 529 221
Institute of Medical Psychology
Kids2Health
Kids2Health brings together experts from the Institute of Medical Psychology, the Clinic for Pediatrics with a focus on Endocrinology and Diabetology, and the Clinic for Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents at the Charité. In addition to the Charité, which heads the research association, the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry and the University of Konstanz are involved as partners.