Research mandate
As an institution of the University of Regensburg, we have the task of researching psychological disorders and their treatment as well as the new and further development of therapies. For this reason, we ask our patients for their consent that we may analyse their treatment data and, if applicable, audio and video recordings from therapy sessions for research purposes. Patient data is pseudonymised for research purposes, i.e. stored and processed under a code instead of a name. We may also ask our patients whether they would like to take part in a specific research project. This may, for example, involve carrying out psychophysiological measurements (e.g. heart rate) or participating in evaluation studies on new therapy methods. As part of all research projects, our patients' data will of course be treated confidentially and in accordance with current data protection guidelines.
Teaching assignment
In addition to research, we have the task of training future psychotherapists in a practical way. This is why psychology students and psychologists in training to become psychotheraputics work in the university outpatient clinic as therapy assistants and take on tasks in the context of treatments according to their level of knowledge. This includes, for example, shadowing, i.e. attending sessions, carrying out and analysing psychometric tests including clinical interviews or carrying out individual interventions (e.g. relaxation training) under the supervision of licensed psychotherapists. If our patients have issues that they do not wish to discuss in the presence of a therapy assistant, this can of course be taken into account. Our patients may inform their therapist of this at any time. If our patients also give their consent, an anonymised description of the treatment case or, if applicable, audio and video recordings of psychotherapy sessions will also be included for teaching purposes in courses for students. In all cases, our patients' data will only be used with their express consent. It goes without saying that students and all outpatient clinic staff are bound to confidentiality and are bound by the statutory data protection regulations.