Research Profile – Psychotherapy Science

As the founding faculty of SFU, the Faculty of Psychotherapy Science was established in 2005 as one of the first university institutions worldwide to anchor psychotherapy science as an academic discipline. Both nationally and internationally, it has not only played a pioneering role in the academic training and professionalisation of psychotherapists, but has also played a key role in the further development of psychotherapy science research.

The five places of implementation of the Faculty of Psychotherapy Science in Vienna, Linz, Berlin, Paris, and Ljubljana, as well as the associated university psychotherapy clinics at almost all locations, form an international network of teaching, research, and care facilities, providing the ideal structure for multi-site research projects.

What Makes the Research Profile of the Faculty of Psychotherapy Science Unique?

• Interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity
• Methodological pluralism
• Integration of research, teaching and psychotherapeutic practice

The research profile of the Faculty of Psychotherapy Science is characterised by its interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary orientation. The interdisciplinary research strategy results from the composition of the research teams, which investigate research questions across disciplines. The faculty’s transdisciplinary orientation comes into play when scientific questions are further developed with reference to psychotherapeutic practice and social, professional and legal contexts.

Another feature of the research profile of the Faculty of Psychotherapy Science is its pluralistic methodological and cross-school approaches. The faculty’s outputs include quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods designs as well as pan-theoretical and hermeneutic approaches. Theoretical concepts, models of action and interventions from different schools of psychotherapy are researched in an integrative manner. The pluralistic research strategy reflects the diversity of psychotherapeutic approaches and theoretical traditions in the field.

A third key element of the faculty’s research profile is the close link between theoretical, psychotherapeutic research, teaching and psychotherapeutic practice. This interface is evident at several levels: student research projects are aligned with the faculty’s research focus, and research skills are systematically embedded in the curricula. In addition, the university psychotherapy outpatient clinics in particular represent this structural integration, as they are used not only as care facilities but also as training centres and research infrastructures. More on Health Services Research

Related links:

• Institutes – Faculty of Psychotherapy Science
• SFU Research Portal (Pure)
• SFU Research Website
• SFU Journals (Archive Research Bulletin)
• SFU Ethics Commissions
• SFU Research Intranet (internal)

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