School of Psychology and Psychotherapy

Junior Professorship of Specific Fields of Activity in Clinical Psychology

The team at our chair, led by Junior Professor Dr Jan Schürmann-Vengels, is investigating how mental health can be conceptualised. We use confirmatory analytical methods in cross-sectional and longitudinal designs to investigate the factorial structure of mental health. For example, whether people’s psychological distress and well-being can be assessed as independent dimensions (Schürmann-Vengels et al., 2023, *Clinical Psychology in Europe*). Furthermore, we are investigating the implications for psychotherapy of conceptualising mental health more broadly. In this regard, we assess patients’ resources and strengths. Several studies have shown that patients’ self-perceived resources are associated with positive processes and therapeutic outcomes (Schürmann-Vengels et al., 2022 *Journal of Clinical Psychology*; Schürmann-Vengels et al., 2023 *Psychotherapy Research*). We are also interested in positive emotions in people with mental health conditions (Schürmann-Vengels et al., 2025 *Behaviour Research and Therapy*), and how positive emotions can be specifically enhanced in psychotherapy (Schürmann-Vengels et al., 2024 *Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy*).

Mental health does not exist in a vacuum, but is shaped by an individual’s experiences and context. It is important to us to represent this diversity in clinical research and practice. We collaborate with national and international research groups to highlight the challenges, concerns and opportunities faced by minorities and marginalised groups. Our chair focuses on the mental health and treatment experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals. Due to discrimination and stigmatisation, queer people are disproportionately affected by mental health problems and thus represent an important target group for clinical psychology (Schürmann-Vengels et al., 2025, *Journal of Counseling Psychology*). At the same time, queer issues have so far been scarcely integrated into teaching, training and further education, and research. Knowledge of the specific issues and factors affecting this target group is an essential prerequisite for personalised and affirmative healthcare. We adhere to the principles of community-based and participatory research. Furthermore, we place great emphasis on science communication in order to make our findings available to LGBTQ+ communities and society as a whole.