Exchange to LVR-Universitätsklinik Essen – Applications for Autumn 2026 are now open!

Colleagues shared their experience:
"We had the opportunity to observe operations across various departments and learn about their approaches to treating conditions such as acute psychiatric issues, eating disorders, addiction, depression and anxiety, behavioral problems, school dropout, and personality disorders. We were granted access to observe virtually every aspect of their work. We saw, for instance, that they provide intensive care by delivering a significant portion of treatment in an inpatient setting. They offer a wide range of treatments and also provide in-house education. We also witnessed something remarkable in the High Intensive Care (HIC) unit: they do not operate an admissions freeze, so during our visit, beds occupied by patients were lined up in the hallway because the rooms were full. Then, someone simply walked in—without a referral or prior notice—seeking a crisis assessment.

The differences in organization and treatment philosophy were interesting. For instance, they opt for a more behavioral approach—making extensive use of DBT—whereas our treatment philosophy leans more towards a psychoanalytic perspective. At the same time, it was equally striking how many of the daily challenges we recognized, such as those involved in collaborating with other organizations in the care chain. It was also gratifying to see their keen interest in the progress we have made in recent years regarding systemic and outpatient care; they are still in the early stages of development in these areas.

We easily struck up a conversation about this and exchanged experiences and ideas. Despite an initial language barrier, a sense of rapport quickly developed. We look back on an educational and inspiring visit, taking away both new ideas and a sense of shared experience that we can apply to our own work. It is also great that we will be meeting again soon; these German colleagues are coming to visit us on September 23 and 24.

All three of us greatly appreciate the opportunity Karakter gave us to participate in this exchange. We learned a great deal from it, so we would highly recommend participating if you get the chance!"