Ombudsteam
The Faculty of Psychology has a low-threshold counselling service for early career researchers (ECRs) implemented as the ombudsteam.
The members of the ombudsteam act as independent and neutral counsellors, mediators and support persons, and as a points of contact for ECRs seeking support related to issues and conflicts that arise during their employment at the Faculty or as part of their doctoral studies (ECRs are all academic staff in a qualification phase, but especially pre- and postdocs; this holds also for issues that have arisen in the past, i.e. the ombudsperson can also be contacted after the end of an employment or supervision relationship).
The issues with which the members of the ombudsperson team can be approached cover a broad and generally open range of topics - from personal conflicts in the context of professional activity to violations of good academic practice or academic misconduct.
The aim of setting up the ombudsperson team at the Faculty is to be able to respond to the specific needs of ECRs at our Faculty in a more low-threshold, personal and informed manner than in existing counselling units outside the Faculty.
Our ombudsteam counselling service should therefore be seen as a supplement to the services already established at the University of Vienna (such as the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Office and the Ombudsperson Office for Safeguarding Good Academic Practice).
The team
The ombudsperson team consists of five members: two internal ombudspersons, two trustees and one external ombudsperson. An ECR seeking counselling can therefore contact any person from this group. The aim of the large number of points of contact is to be able to respond to the various counselling needs as easily and individually as possible.
The internal ombudspersons were appointed by the faculty management upon suggestion by the ECR Ambassadors, and will be Prof. Stefanie Höhl and Prof. Claus Lamm for the period 2024 to 2027. They can be contacted at their personal email addresses or at the anonymous addresses ombudsperson-hoehl.psychologie@univie.ac.at or ombudsperson-lamm.psychologie@univie.ac.at, and can be reached in various ways (via telephone number 01/4277 474 70, as well as in person, by appointment, at Liebiggasse 5, room number O1.15, 1st floor left staircase; Stefanie Höhl; telephone number 01/4277/471 30, as well as in person, by appointment, at Liebiggasse 5, room number O3.19, 3rd floor left staircase; Claus Lamm).
In addition to their special interest in mentoring and supporting ECRs, the internal ombudspersons are characterized by their many years of experience both as ombudspersons and as vice deans at the Faculty of Psychology. They can therefore offer valuable support and insights, particularly in the case of counselling needs that require special knowledge of legal situations and formal university requirements. In addition, they can provide advice based on their many years of experience as mentors and supervisors with special knowledge of supervision cultures and dynamics.
The trustees were elected by the ECR Ambassadors. One trustee is a postdoc and one is a Ph.D. student. The Trustees are currently Dr. Fiona Rupprecht (available at fiona.rupprecht@univie.ac.at, or ombuds-postdoc.psychologie@univie.ac.at on 01/4277 474 42, as well as in person, by appointment, in Liebiggasse 5, room number O3.58, 3rd floor, between the stairs) and Stefanie Hirsch BSc MSc (available at s.hirsch@univie.ac.at or ombuds-phd.psychologie@univie.ac.at, as well as in person, by appointment, in Wächtergasse 1, room number 106, 1st floor).
In order to address problems and challenges as early as possible, this peer-to-peer offer should enable an even greater low-threshold approach. In addition, the trustees can contribute aspects and perspectives that are presumably more directly orientated towards the counselling needs and situation of the ECRs.
Prof. Susann Fiedler acts as an external ombudsperson. As a member of the Ombudsperson Committee of the German Society for Psychology (DGPs, https://www.dgps.de/die-dgps/das-ombudsgremium/ ), she is an experienced contact person for matters where counselling by the internal ombudspersons or trustees does not seem appropriate.
Procedure
Contact can be made by e-mail, post, telephone or in person. During an initial meeting, the need for counselling, possible solutions and any further steps to be taken are discussed with the ombudsperson or the trustees.
If mediation with the conflicting party/parties is desired by the applicant, the ombudsperson and trustees can organize discussions, accompany them and support both parties in their search for constructive solutions to the problem. The ombudsperson and trustees can only make recommendations.
The appointment of the ombudsperson and trustees is also intended to address a possible personal conflict situation that may arise from the contradiction between loyalty to superiors or supervisors and the obligation to behave scientifically or otherwise correctly.
The ombudsperson and trustees treat all concerns, consultations and discussions in strict confidence. They are not obliged to provide information to anyone, nor are they obliged to pass on the information received or to confront the persons or institutions concerned with it. The guarantee of confidentiality serves to protect all persons involved and applies beyond the conclusion of a case.
Confidentiality can only be lifted if the person receiving counselling agrees to this in writing or if higher-ranking mandatory law requires the case to be passed on. Before confidentiality is lifted, the person seeking counselling will be given the opportunity to withdraw or reformulate the complaint.
The exact procedure, including a flowchart, can be viewed here.
Counselling culture and examples of counselling and support
An ombudsperson model was set up at the Faculty of Psychology in 2020, at that time only with the two internal ombudspersons. The expansion to an ombudsperson team with several contact persons aims to make the counselling even more accessible. In particular, this should lead to conflicts and issues being discussed and addressed at an as early as possible stage.
The aim of the ombudsperson team, embedded in a series of other initiatives at the Faculty of Psychology (such as mental health coaching, supervisor intervision and workshops, a series of events on the topic of well-being), is to see seeking counselling as something normal and an essential part of the academic-professional development of ECRs.
Therefore, the following are some abstract examples of counselling scenarios that have already arisen in this or a similar form at the faculty and for which the corresponding counselling steps could be taken.
- Counselling of Ph.D. student regarding contractual matters and non-transparent graduation criteria and possible change of supervisor; without involving the supervisor, the student was coached in such a way that supervision services became more transparent, a concrete timetable was worked out, and the student was able to complete the degree program, very positive feedback regarding general support, enabling a change of perspective, and the concrete information and assistance offered
- Involvement in counselling Ph.D. student who no longer wanted to contact supervisor due to various incidents; mediation of a change of supervisor; Ph.D. student was able to complete studies
- Counselling of postdoc regarding conflict with postdoc mentor; mediation of a joint discussion (at the explicit request of the postdoc visiting the ombudsperson) and concrete steps to improve cooperation
- Counselling regarding conflict with mentor; multi-stage ongoing counselling and contextualization of the conflict by ombudsperson, process was perceived as very helpful and supportive by the person seeking advice
- Involvement in counselling sessions for Ph.D. students regarding excessive demands in the co-supervision of students by the supervisor
- Various counselling sessions with Ph.D. students and postdocs on topics such as insufficient/inadequate supervision, excessive demands due to teaching in other disciplines and administrative support, conflict with supervisors and other ECRs