Experts with different focuses on topics such as "Neurodiversity and the importance of psychiatric diagnoses " or "Diet culture and body image in the age of social media" contributed to destigmatization through keynote speeches. The feedback from participants has clearly shown us how great the need is for more information and spaces for honest exchange on this topic. Since the successful completion of the module series, we have been offering other institutions, particularly associations and foundations, further training and workshop formats on the topic of "mental health".
Frau Priv.-Doz. Dr. Dr. Dipl. Psych. Ricarda Nater-Mewes
Mrs. Priv.-Doz. Dr. Dr. Dipl. Psych. Ricarda Nater-Mewes has been Head of the Research, Teaching and Practice Outpatient Clinic at the Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna since 2017. She previously worked in teaching, research and practice at various universities in Germany. In 2009, she completed both her doctorate as Dr. rer. nat. and Dr. rer. medic. She received her venia legendi (habilitation) in psychology in 2022. She has been a licensed psychological psychotherapist with a specialist qualification in behavioral therapy since 2012.Her research interests include the study of mental health in ethnic minorities (immigrants and refugees) and the role of psychological factors in the classification and maintenance of physical health conditions.
Dr. Fanny Dietel
Dr. Fanny Dietel is currently a research assistant (post-doc) in the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the University of Osnabrück and a psychological psychotherapist (specialist qualification: behavioral therapy) for adults. She is also in advanced additional qualification for behavioral therapy with children and adolescents. Since 2014, Dr. Dietel has been working in research, teaching and practice on body dissatisfaction, body image and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders, in particular body dysmorphic disorder. Her research interests include the way in which people with these disorders perceive their environment (so-called cognitive distortions) and how findings on this can be used for new prevention and intervention programs. In her experimental and ecologically oriented basic research, she is also increasingly focusing on the effects and possibilities of digital worlds for body dissatisfaction and its treatment.
Prof. Dr. Sarah Gierhan
As a business coach for jack-of-all-trades and scanner personalities, as well as a professor of coaching at IU International University, Sarah Gierhan supports diverse professionals and leaders who are seeking new ways to find professional fulfillment. Her background in brain research and neuropsychology enables her to understand the individual personality factors that can significantly influence psychological well-being in the workplace. By applying these insights, she helps people to discover their potential and use it to find professional fulfillment and success. You can find more information about Prof. Dr. Gierhan here: www.tausendsassacoach.de
© Bild: Julia Vogel Photography
Prof. Dr. Fabian Karsch
Prof. Dr. Fabian Karsch is a sociologist and Professor of Social and Health Sciences at the HSD Hochschule Döpfer in Regensburg. There he teaches mainly in the field of medical education. For many years, he has been working on the medicalization of social conditions, the cultural significance of disease diagnoses and the boundaries of normality and deviance. Dr. Karsch also gives lectures and workshops on the topics of ADHD and neurodiversity.
Paula Kittelmann
Paula Kittelmann lives in Leipzig. She is an M.Sc. psychologist and psychotherapist in training in depth psychology. She is currently also working as a doctoral student under the supervision of Prof. Schomerus on a project on experiences of violence by mentally ill people in the context of social, biographical and institutional factors. She has been working as a freelancer in political education for several years. As a speaker, she talks about the influence of experiences of discrimination on mental health. Since 2021, she has also been a member of VLSP*, the association for queer people in psychology, and works as a queer-sensitive therapist.
Dr. Julia Tanck
Dr. Julia Tanck is a psychologist and psychotherapist in private practice with a focus on eating disorders and body image disorders. She completed her doctorate in the field of body image therapy for eating disorders. Julia is also a speaker, lecturer and activist. On 15.05.2024 her first book "Unfiltered. Social media and our body image - How to find body acceptance and a healthy self-perception".
Dr. Dipl.-Psych. Leonie Knebel
Dr. Dipl.-Psych. Leonie Knebel is a research assistant at the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and works as a freelance psychotherapist. She has written a dissertation on "Psychotherapy, depression and emancipation. A subject-scientific study on behavioral therapy practice" and is active in the association "Gesellschaft für subjektwissenschaftliche Forschung und Praxis".
Paula
This is Paula. She lives in Leipzig and is a trainee social worker. She has been suffering from severe depression on and off for five years. In a way, she says, she is very grateful to the illness, because without it she would not be who she is today. It's often so easy to say in retrospect, but the process of getting there is always incredibly difficult. Her will to live, her supportive environment and, last but not least, professional help have helped her to find her way back to herself and her lively core again and again. She would like to use her own experiences with depression professionally in the future and also support and accompany those affected in their recovery process.
Gideon Franck
Gideon Franck is a psychological psychotherapist with the additional qualification of special pain psychotherapy in his own practice in Petersberg. He founded his company, Schritt ins Leben, with a special coaching program for pain patients. He received the German Pain Award for Research and Pain Medicine in 2022 for this, among other things. He also works as a lecturer and supervisor at various university training institutes and clinics. He also runs two YouTube channels (German, English) for Schritt ins Leben. He lives with his family on the edge of the Rhön.
Dr. med. Astrid Freisen
Dr. med. Astrid Freisen is a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy and has been working at Reykjavik University Hospital / Iceland since 2021 with a focus on the treatment of affective disorders and therapy-resistant depression. Prior to this, she worked in Germany for 15 years, mainly in day-care psychiatry. Dr. Freisen is a member of the management team of the Self-Affected Professionals in the German Society for Bipolar Disorders, which she founded in 2014 together with two colleagues.Her main concern is anti-stigma work, which is why she published a biographical guide in 2023 in addition to numerous podcasts, interviews and radio programs. After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2010, she initially struggled with feelings of shame and guilt. Through contact with other professionals who were affected themselves, she managed to overcome this and understand that being affected also has advantages in her therapeutic work. In her presentation, she explains why this is the case and why it is so important for more professionals to admit that they are affected.
Dr. Ines Keita
Dr. Ines Keita is a psychologist and completed her doctorate on the topic of "Stigma in mental illness". After completing her studies, she then headed the German Alliance Against Depression for over 10 years - a nationwide network that works locally on the topic of depression and suicide prevention. Since 2023, Dr. Keita has been working as deputy managing director and research assistant for the German Depression Aid Foundation. She is currently overseeing a project for refugees from Ukraine. Her work also focuses on internet-based programs for people with depression and strengthening mental health in Gambia, West Africa.
Maryam Laura Moazedi
Maryam Laura Moazedi lives in Vienna and Graz. She studied in London, Cambridge, Helsinki and Tokyo, among other places, and is a university lecturer at the Karl-Franzens-University and a lecturer at the FH Joanneum. She deals with aspects of diversity in theory and practice; her current focus is on ageism and age as a construct, as well as heterogeneity and inclusion in the settings of photography, design, museums and schools.
Philip Keeler
Philip Keeler is a freelance speaker and trainer in global education work. He supports groups, associations and initiatives in reflecting on and dealing with power structures and marginalization. In the field of anti-discrimination work, he focuses primarily on issues relating to social justice and encourages people to adopt a critical and political stance towards the supposedly "a-political" space of psychology. Based on his own personal (illness) history, Philip Keeler, together with initiatives and associations from Münster, Jena, Osnabrück, Vienna and Dresden, sets out in search of answers to the all-encompassing question: "Who (or what) made us ill?". But the history of an individual is always also a history of the social power relations that surround them."
All projects overview
