Thomas Elbert

Thomas Elbert is a German neuropsychologist known for his contributions to the study of trauma and its impact on the human mind. He serves as a professor of Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology at the University of Konstanz.

Education and career In 1990, Elbert accepted a professorship at the University of Konstanz, only to be called to the University Clinic Münster a year later. He returned to Konstanz in 1995, where he has since held the position of Professor for Clinical Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology.

A specialist in trauma research, Elbert ventured into conflict zones such as Afghanistan, the Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Uganda, conducting field studies that brought him face-to-face with the brutal realities of war and violence. His experiences fuelled the co-development of Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET), a treatment addressing psychological disorders resulting from traumatic stress.

Since 2010, his investigations into the "Psychobiology of Human Violence and Readiness to Kill" have been funded as a Reinhart Koselleck Project by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Elbert serves as the spokesperson for the DFG Research Group 751 "The Science of Social Stress" and sits on the board of vivo international (victims' voice), an organization dedicated to working with survivors of organized violence. He was elected to the membership of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in 2001 and German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in 2009.

Honors Elbert received the Hector Science Award in 2010, leading to his induction into the Hector Fellow Academy in 2013. In 2016, together with Maggie Schauer, Elbert received the Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker Prize, and in 2019, he was honored with the German Psychology Award by Leibniz Institute for Psychology Information. In 2023, he was elected as a member of the Academia Europaea.