Sigmund Freud Private University (SFU) is a unique institution that pioneered psychotherapy science as an academic programme and has thereby taken a lead in developing psychotherapy research. The emerging academic discipline of psychotherapy science is characterised by a state-of-the-art mixed methods design of qualitative and quantitative research that corresponds to the peculiarity of the research object.

Keeping a balance between openness towards individual research interests and developing a coordinated approach in terms of a research profile is challenging in the vast area of open research questions in psychotherapy science. Offering psychotherapy science as an academic discipline at SFU bridges the gap between psychotherapy science research and psychotherapeutic practice, visible in the close cooperation of research and teaching at the Faculty of Psychotherapy Science.

Cross-method research – also at the SFU Outpatient Clinic 

Since the SFU’s accreditation in 2005, a line of psychotherapy science research has emerged which, due to the SFU’s unique position, opens the door for research across various psychotherapeutic methods that goes beyond method-specific effectiveness research and allows a differential approach to various treatment methods.

In this context, the SFU’s psychotherapeutic outpatient clinic provides extensive qualitative and quantitative data. At the same time, psychotherapy training research can be carried out. Read the article “Insights into the daily psychotherapeutic research routine of the SFU Outpatient Clinic” (PDF, in German), written by Dr. Lisa Winter and the research team of the psychotherapeutic outpatient clinic.

Related links:

Contact:

Ass.-Prof. Dr. Martin Kuška, Ph.D.
Vice Dean Research
Faculty of Psychotherapy Science
martin.kuska@sfu.ac.at