Kerstin von Plessen

Professor Kerstin von Plessen is a child and adolescent psychiatrist with an interest in the neurobiological basis of mental illness, with a view to prevention and early intervention. She has been professor at the University of Copenhagen from 2012-2017, and from 2017 at the University of Lausanne, as head of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (SUPEA) at the CHUV. Her research focuses on the neurobiological basis of neuropsychiatric disorders (TS, OCD, ADHD), as well as the vulnerability of children at risk for schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. The study of these factors, which facilitate recovery, compensation and plasticity, is another line of research. Trained at the Scandinavian school - she completed her specialisation in child psychiatry and her training in psychotherapy in Norway and taught at the University of Copenhagen - Kerstin von Plessen advocates a vision of child and adolescent psychiatry oriented towards outpatient care and facilitation of autonomy of young people and families whenever possible. Proximity is important for patient care, but also for family support. Kerstin Plessen has led several longitudinal studies in the Capital Region of Denmark, at the University of Copenhagen and at the University of Bergen, which study the development of emotion regulation in children with ADHD and TS. Furthermore, she is co-responsible for a study with a longitudinal perspective mapping dimensional assessments of children with a high risk of developing psychiatric disorders (The Danish High Risk and Resilience Study – VIA7).