Systemic Family Therapy at SFU

In our self-description we are the following: An active, interested, curious, humorous, inquisitive team of teaching therapists with a good mix of ages (from late 30s to mid-70s) who not only try to live the ‘spirit’ of systemic family therapy, the associated view of humanity and the underlying epistemological and system-theoretical theories in their work with clients/patients, but also want to convey this in a lively and practical way to young training colleagues. Each teaching therapist is an ‘all-rounder’ in systemic work, but also has their own hobbyhorses and specialisms. All in all, we are able to provide students with a good representation of the diversity of theory and methods through the team of teaching therapists: a colourful bouquet of professional diversity and plenty of room for human individuality.

In addition to the coordination team, you will get to know the following teaching therapists in the course of the programme or in the elective subject Systemic Therapy. They will also become mentors and good companions on your path to becoming a psychotherapist. Of course, we also regularly invite national and international guest speakers on specific topics. There are close collaborations with SFU Ljubljana and VID in Oslo.

Elfriede Feichtinger, Herbert Gröger, Katharina Hinsch, Michaela Mühl or other teaching therapists from the ÖAS, ÖAGG or LASF can also be selected for some or all of the 80 hours of individual self-experience.

Fee for the training programme per semester: € 5,919
Admission fee: € 550

Contact Finance & Controlling:

Mail: ptw-accounting@sfu.ac.at
Phone: +43 1 798 40 98 304
Office and telephone hours: Mo-Thur: 10 am  – 3 pm / Fr: 10 am – 3 pm (Fridays by telephone only)
Address: Freudplatz 1, 3rd floor, room 3002

• General payment modalities

You need:

• Matura, nostrified Matura or university entrance qualification
• Propaedeuticum certificate – admission to the method is not possible without a propaedeuticum certificate!
• Two admissions interviews
• An admission seminar
• Positive assessment by the admissions committee

Admission Process for 2026

1. Two interviews with teaching therapists specialising in Systemic Family Therapy:
Dr. Gerda Mehta (Email: mehta@aon.at, Tel.: +43 676 625 82 52) and N.N. Registrations for the interviews can be made from 1 March 2026.

2. A full-day admission seminar at SFU Vienna – with teaching therapists specialising in Systemic Family Therapy – on Monday, 29 June 2026 from 9:00 a.m. to 16:00 p.m. (in person at SFU Vienna). After successfully completing the two admission interviews, you will be registered for the admission seminar (see Method Admission Seminars for the respective winter semester).

3. We expressly point out that for a desired start of training in September 2026, a psychotherapeutic propaedeutic certificate must be available by 31 August 2026.

Admission fee: € 550
This includes the processing of the documents, two interviews, participation in a seminar (or three interviews), information meetings, crediting procedure, etc.

Contact Finance and Controlling:
Mail: ptw-accounting@sfu.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 798 40 98 304
Opening and telephone hours: Mon-Thu: 10:00 – 15:00 / Fri: 10:00 – 15:00 (Fridays only available by telephone)
Address: Freudplatz 1, 3rd floor, room 3002

• Continue to the payment modalities

The SF elective subject or subject-specific training comprises the following steps and requirements:

In principle, the programme is divided into 2 sections, namely a ‘first’ and ‘second’ subject-specific section. You will receive a student handbook, which will provide you with guidance on the requirements of your degree programme, what lies behind you and what still awaits you in your own learning process. A semester plan provides you with the specific dates, content and lecturers.

The ‘first’ section covers the semester period of B5 and B6 in the SFU degree programme. At least half of all requirements must be fulfilled – with the exception of supervision and psychotherapeutic work. The ‘second’ phase begins at the point at which you are awarded the status ‘in training under supervision’ by the WPF. This second stage usually coincides with the M1-M2 semester.

In total, the following content and training hours must be completed over both sections of the programme:

1. Personal development: at least 220 hours
   (individual self-experience: 80 hours and group self-experience: 140 hours)
   100 hours are integrated into the SFU curriculum, are organised by the SFU and are included in the tuition fees. 40 hours of group self-awareness and 80 hours of individual self-awareness must be organised externally and paid for separately (for both parts to be organised externally, only systemic teaching therapists recognised in Austria are eligible). 100% attendance is compulsory for all self-awareness seminars.
2. Internship: 550 hours
   Of these, at least 150 hours must be completed at a ‘relevant’ healthcare institution within one year. 367 hours of work placement are required to achieve status.
3. Theories / methods: at least 390h
   These are offered in 15-hour seminars at weekends (Fri. 16.00-20.00 and Sat. 9.00-18.00) or in B5 and B6 as literature seminars (weekly on a weekday – 17.00 to 20.00). In the international programme, the courses are scheduled on weekdays. Attendance is also compulsory. You need 200 theory hours to acquire the status of ‘psychotherapist in training under supervision’ so that you can start ‘practice’ at the outpatient clinic.

The rest of the theory seminars are completed in the so-called ‘second’ subject-specific section” during the M1-M4 curriculum period. You can choose which seminars you would like to specialise in from the range on offer.

4. Internship reflection: 30 hours
   These 30 hours are completed in parallel to the internship as required, e.g. in open Tuesday NV groups with Jutta Fiegl, Gerda Mehta, Christopher Uitz or Hedi Wagner.
5. Practice: 630h practice
   Practice here means the independent psychotherapeutic treatment of patients in training under supervision. Approval for the practical activity or ‘status’ is granted in writing by the head of the elective subject after a personal interview with the student. Initially you will work at the SFU outpatient clinic for at least 100 hours, but you can also set up your own practice in parallel or look for a job as a psychotherapist.

To be awarded the status of ‘Psychotherapist in training under supervision’, you need

• at least 110 hours of personal development, whereby half of the individual self-experience (=40 hours) must have been completed.
• 200h theories / methods
• a large part of the internships (at least 367h)
• a large part of the internship reflection (at least 20h)
• the bachelor’s degree
• positive assessment of the first two term papers and the 2 literature papers by the course head

The requirements for permission to work in the SFU outpatient clinic, which can be granted after the first year at the earliest, are as follows

• Status ‘in training under supervision’
• At least one hour of work as a co-therapist with Gerda Mehta or Michaela Leon in the outpatient clinic
• Completion of the bachelor’s degree

Until registration, you must be regularly supervised by SF teaching therapists and keep a record of every psychotherapeutic session and regularly complete the mandatory documentation, which must also be done after registration as part of the psychotherapeutic activity. This must be presented to the supervisor on a regular basis. A longer break from the psth. Activity must be reported.

• Practical supervision: 220h
  This takes the form of group supervision or video analyses and must be taken up on an ongoing basis at the SFU with the supervisors specified in the curriculum.

Annual screenings and semester evaluations

The semester evaluation currently consists of the following:

• In the 1st semester, a written paper:
  My examination of the systemic perspective (approx. 10-15 pages)
• At the end of the 2nd semester:
  My examination of the systemic way of working (approx. 10-15 pages)
• The presentation of the selected literature and the student’s written document serve to evaluate the ‘literature work’ course.
• In the following semesters, an independently conducted psychotherapy (course) and the corresponding case analysis, which must be submitted at the end of each semester (approx. 10 pages), serve to evaluate the ‘semester performance’.

At the end of each academic year, there are screening meetings with the programme supervisors, which offer the opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved and what is still open, to give mutual feedback and, above all, to exchange ideas between students and programme supervisors. The written term paper must already be available.

Prerequisites for obtaining the Systemic Therapy Certificate, with which you can apply to the Federal Ministry to be listed on the list of psychotherapists (professional authorisation):

• Master’s degree, or a theoretical paper on a systemic topic in the form of a specialised journal article (approx. 20 pages)
• Positive completion of all training elements stipulated in the study book. This also includes the fulfilment of 2 video/audio analyses or transcripts, and a positively assessed case reflection of approx. 10 pages for each semester in status.
• A fully completed study book with the respective signatures of the teachers
• Presentation of the 630 protocols for independent work as a psychotherapist