International Psychoanalytic University Berlin

The IPU is a state-recognised private university with its campus and administration in Berlin. The International Psychoanalytic University Berlin gGmbH limited liability company is the body responsible for the university, and the sole shareholder of the company is currently the Foundation to Promote University Psychoanalysis. The latter is a non-profit foundation with legal capacity established under German public law. The IPU is financed solely from the non-profit foundation's resources and the study fees from students attending the courses, in addition to third-party funding for its research activities. It does not receive any grants or contributions whatsoever from the public authorities.

With the commencement of lectures in 2009, a gap was closed that had arisen in the one-sided natural sciences direction of academic psychology. The study courses at the IPU convey psychoanalysis as a science which maps the human as a biological, social and culturally imprinted being and which seeks to understand the individual against the background of their history and the influence of their unconscious. All of the study courses at the IPU are research-related, and provide close contact with clinical and pedagogical practice from the first semester.

The IPU facilitates studies, advanced studies and further education, as well as research with a psychoanalytical basis, and pursues a transdisciplinary understanding of science in its fields of teaching and research.

In a dialogue with other sciences, it contributes to the further development of psychoanalysis as an applied social science and cultural theory.

It conveys psychoanalysis as a science which maps the human as a biological, social and culturally shaped being and which seeks to understand the individual against the background of their personal history and under the influence of the unconscious.

The scientists lecturing and researching at the IPU have gained many years of experience in practice, teaching and research. They enjoy excellent learning and working conditions with the required resources at their disposal.

Analysis, discussion and shared development – on an interdisciplinary level and beyond the limitations of any status groups – represent a defining criterion of the scientific and organisational work at the IPU.

The IPU builds up networks and establishes cooperative arrangements with national and international partners in science, training and practice, which promote mutual enrichment in terms of content and a positive perception among the general public.

The IPU fosters a (self) reflective attitude in teaching, research and on an application level, a close link between application and research, as well as an interdisciplinary and international dialogue. It contributes to the healthcare of the overall population.

The research conducted at the IPU focuses in numerous ways on the effects of unconscious processes in individuals, groups, organisations and societies. Doing so, it recognises the reciprocal linkages between clinical, social and cultural science issues, while being characterised by a multi-perspective, trans-disciplinary approach.

This is accompanied by continuous reflection on methodological and theory of science aspects, in addition to efforts to further develop and differentiate the inventory of methods.

The researchers at the IPU intensively examine and assess methods and differing scientific perspectives and approaches (qualitative and quantitative, hermeneutic and empirical) by means of reflection in an international exchange process. With opportunities for unique scientific creativity resulting from these discourses. The IPU research profile chart provides an overview of the current research fields and subjects.

Thus the current focus of the research at the IPU, in which the various research projects from the scientists at the IPU are arranged and organised, is related to the following areas: Psychotherapy research (process/outcome research), supervision and training research, trauma and violence, critical discourse analysis and concept analysis, virtuality and new media. The exchange processes between the scientists are fostered by means of overlapping areas of content, as well as through the utilisation of similar methodical approaches.

In July 2012, the IPU Berlin opened its International Office with responsibility for its international university relations and affairs. It is tasked with planning, compiling and co-ordinating all non-German activities at the IPU Berlin in consultation with the professors on the International Commission and the university management. It is the central contact point for IPU Berlin students planning a stay abroad, as well as for students and visiting scientists from abroad intending to stay at the IPU Berlin for studies or scientific research.

The International Psychoanalytic University (IPU) is a state-recognised private university with its own University Outpatient Service, in which treatment is provided solely by licenced medical and psychological psychotherapists who have completed their professional training and education.

The IPU’s University Outpatient Service was established by Professor Dr. Heinrich Deserno in 2011, when it commenced its clinical work. Since Professor Deserno’s retirement in 2015, the University Outpatient Service has been headed by Professor Dr. Lutz Wittmann.

Our work focuses on the human with the specific reasons that bring them to us, and with their unique life story. In this regard, our clinical work is embedded within the context of our university research and teaching. This means that we are continuously applying ourselves to achieving improvements in the treatments of psychic disorders, as well as in the academic training and education of the next generation of psychotherapists. Detailed information on our range of treatments can be found on this website, or is provided during the first consultation appointment.

The University Outpatient Service is permitted in accordance with Sec. 117 German Code of Social Law (SGB) to charge the patient’s statutory health insurance company for the consultation and treatment services it provides. Patients insured privately can also submit their invoices to their health insurance companies.