Kathrin Braeuninger-Weimer

My research interests lie within Health and Clinical Psychology, with a specific focus on the psychology of chronic pain.

My PhD project was funded by a grant from EuroSpine awarded to Professor Tamar Pincus and carried out within the NHS. We investigated consultation-based reassurance for patients with persistent musculoskeletal low back pain consulting with orthopaedic teams for whom surgery is ruled out. A mixed-method design was adopted that involved qualitative research to explore how patients feel about being discharged and their perception of reassurance in their last specialist consultation. Subsequently, a prospective-cohort study was employed to examine the role of consultation-based reassurance on outcomes shortly after the consultation, and at 3-months follow-up.

I have started managing a new grant awarded to Professor Tamar Pincus that extends the research we carried out during my PhD. We aim to develop an intervention to train orthopaedic teams to deliver effective reassurance and address patients’ needs in circumstances, where further treatment and surgery are not an option. The intervention is developed with an experienced team of back pain researchers, the synthesis of published literature, qualitative interviews with orthopaedic practitioners, and a proof-of-concept investigation that compares patients’ perceptions of their consultation before and after employing the intervention.  

Taught research methods and statistics (PS1010) to first-year psychology students.

PhD Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London (2016-2019).

BSc Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London (2013-2016).