About

In the early 1980s I was trained as a mental health nurse at a mental hospital in northern Germany. After some years of nursing practice I became a sociologist and graduated with a Dr. phil. and a subsequent PhD (Habilitation) from the University of Muenster, Germany.

From 1994 to 2008 I worked as a quality manager and researcher at Muenster Public Mental Hospital (LWL-Klinik Münster). After moving to Switzerland in 2009 I joined the nursing research group at Bern University of Applied Sciences (BUAS). While remaining affiliated with BUAS I became head of research and development at the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Bern University Hospital for Mental Health (UPD Bern) in 2015. Since July 2021, my main affiliation has moved back to BUAS where I am a professor for psychiatric rehabilitation research.