Professorship of Clinical Psychotherapy and Health Psychology
The Professorship in Clinical Psychotherapy and Health Psychology is part of the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Sustainability. Its work focuses on psychotherapeutic processes and the promotion of mental health. Research and teaching combine current scientific findings with practice-oriented questions, taking individual, social, and societal perspectives into account. A particular focus is placed on the further development and scientific evaluation of psychotherapeutic approaches.
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Raphaela Kaisler
Head of the Professorship of Clinical Psychotherapy and Health Psychology
E-Mail: raphaela.kaisler (at) uni-sustainability.at
Raphaela Kaisler is Professor of Clinical Psychotherapy and Health Psychology at the University of Sustainability. In addition, she works in private practice as a psychotherapist specializing in Integrative Gestalt Therapy (humanistic cluster). Her research focuses on the effectiveness of psychotherapy, particularly process and outcome research in individual and group psychotherapy, research on psychotherapy training, and the effects of traumatic experiences and psychological distress during adolescence. Another key area of her work is participatory research, actively involving citizens and patients in the research process.
Raphaela Kaisler has a multidisciplinary academic background. She studied Molecular Biology at the University of Vienna, Science Communication at Dublin City University, and Psychotherapy at the University for Continuing Education Krems. She completed her PhD in Psychology at the University of Vienna. Alongside her research and teaching activities, she worked in third-party funding management at the Austrian Academy of Sciences and in participatory research at the Open Innovation in Science Center of the Ludwig Boltzmann Society. Before accepting her professorship at the University of Sustainability, she headed the Psychology degree programme at Bertha von Suttner Private University in St. Pölten.
Selected Publications
- Kaisler, R. E., & Schaffler, Y. (2025). Clients’ subjective experiences of navigating challenges in Gestalt therapy: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16, 1593918.
- Kaisler, R. E., Schaffler, Y., Fede, M., Keil, S., & Hintermeier, S. (2024). The significance of the level of psychological structure and its impact on treatment planning in humanistic psychotherapies. Psychotherapie Forum.
- Kaisler, R. E., Fede, M., Diltsch, U., Probst, T., & Schaffler, Y. (2023). Common mental disorders in Gestalt therapy treatment: A multiple case study comparing patients with moderate and low integrated personality structures. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1304726.
Research
In our research, we investigate psychotherapeutic processes and the conditions that contribute to effective psychotherapy. We focus on different therapeutic settings and explore how psychotherapeutic treatment can be scientifically studied and further developed.
The subjects of our research include, among others:
- Psychotherapy Process and Outcome Research
- Individual and Group Psychotherapy
- Psychotherapy Training Research
- Participatory Psychotherapy Research
