H Koechlin

Curriculum vitae

Helen Koechlin, PhD, is a research group leader at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich, Switzerland. After her studies of clinical psychology, Dr. Koechlin obtained her PhD from the University of Basel, Switzerland. Her PhD included an extensive research stay at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, where she collaborated closely with the pain treatment service. Dr. Koechlin’s research focuses on emotion-related risk and resilience factors, such as emotion differentiation, emotion variability, and emotion regulation, in the context of chronic pain, specifically chronic postsurgical pain. In addition, Dr. Koechlin conducts (network) meta-analyses to examine the efficacy and safety of different interventions for (pediatric) chronic pain. In a current project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, Dr. Koechlin co-develops a preventive intervention for chronic postsurgical pain together with a group of former patients and their parents. Dissemination of scientific results to those who need them, and the inclusion of people with lived experience are important for Dr. Koechlin’s research. In 2023, Helen Koechlin completed her habilitation at the University of Basel, Switzerland.

Declaration of Interest

None.

The 5 most important personal publication

Koechlin, H., Coakley, R., Schechter, N., Werner, C., & Kossowsky, J. The role of emotion regulation in chronic pain: A systematic literature review. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2018; 107, 38-45,  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2018.02.002 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2018.02.002

Koechlin, H., Kossowsky, J., Lan Lam, T., Barthel, J., Gaab, J., Berde, C. B., Schwarzer, G., Linde, K., Meissner, K., & Locher, C. Efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions for pediatric migraine: A systematic review and and network meta-analysis. Pediatrics, 2021, 147(4), e20194107,  https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-4107  

Koechlin, H., Beeckman, M., Meier, A., Locher, C., Goubert, L., Kossowsky, J., & Simons, L. E. Association of parental and adolescent emotion-related factors with adolescent chronic pain behaviors. PAIN, 2022; 163(7), p e888-e898, DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002508 doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002508

Locher, C., Petignat, M., Wagner, C., Hediger, K., Roth, B., Gaab, J., & Koechlin, H. Group-based animal-assisted psychotherapy for pediatric chronic pain: A pilot study. Journal of Pain Research, 2023; 29(16), 1799-1811. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S394270

Locher, C, Koechlin, H, Zion, S. R., Werner, C., Pine, D. S., Kirsch, I., Kessler, R., & Kossowsky, J. Efficacy and safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, and placebo for common psychiatric disorders among children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry