Silvia Exenberger-Vanham, Clinical and Health Psychologist
Change is possible, nothing is set in stone.
Professor Dr. Silvia Exenberger-Vanham has headed the Department of Clinical Psychology at Karl Landsteiner University (KL) since October 2025. As a clinical, health and developmental psychologist, she combines research, teaching and clinical practice with a clear focus on a holistic view of the human being. In addition to her work at KL, she is involved in research at the Tirol Clinics, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics in Hall in Tirol, and heads the Institute for Positive Psychology and Resilience Research (IPPSY) together with Dr Verena Wolf.
Exenberger-Vanham studied psychology in Innsbruck, having previously worked as an elementary school teacher - a career aspiration that has been with her since early childhood. An Erasmus programme at the Free University of Berlin coincided with the fall of the Berlin Wall, which was a formative experience between new beginnings and uncertainty. She deepened her academic engagement with socio-political and psychosocial issues in her thesis, which she wrote in 1994 in South Africa at the end of apartheid. Early on, she began to explore cultural contexts, social inequalities and their effects on children, including during a research stay in Cape Town, where she focussed her research on autistic children and adolescents.
Her research centers on traumatisation in children and adolescents, well-being, post-traumatic growth and resilience in the sense of positive psychology. She sees culture as a consistent cross-cutting theme. For many years, Exenberger-Vanham has been interested in the question of what people can take away from crises, not only in terms of stress but also in terms of positive developments. This perspective characterises her research as well as her clinical approach: change is possible, nothing is set in stone.
International research projects accompanied her scientific career early on. After working in Antwerp and taking over the management of several EU projects, she was awarded a Marie Curie Outgoing Fellowship, which took her to India. There, together with international partners, she investigated the long-term consequences of traumatisation in children after the 2004 tsunami. This comparative cultural work also formed the basis for her habilitation in clinical and developmental psychology.
In recent years, her research has concentrated in particular on the mental health of children in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. In several projects funded by the state of Tyrol, Exenberger-Vanham investigated the medium and long-term effects of the pandemic on children aged three to twelve, including symptoms such as anxiety and depression, but also aspects of resilience and positive coping strategies. Currently, the focus is increasingly on post-pandemic developments and the promotion of psychological resilience in times of multiple crises.
One of Exenberger-Vanham's key concerns is the stronger anchoring of resource-orientated approaches in clinical practice. When working with clinics, she is committed to ensuring that findings do not only describe deficits, but also make existing strengths visible. "It is not only what is missing that is relevant - but also what works," is a guiding principle of her work. The aim is to take a holistic view of the individual, taking into account development potential as well as stress.
In addition to her research and clinical work, Exenberger-Vanham is also heavily involved in teaching. As a private lecturer at the University of Innsbruck and external lecturer at various universities, she contributes her expertise to the training of future psychologists. At KL, she is involved in the further development of the Psychology Master's curriculum and supervises students in research and final theses. She is also currently planning to fill a postdoctoral position in order to further expand the department.
In the future, Exenberger-Vanham would also like to consistently focus her research on socially relevant issues. Topics such as uncertainty, tolerance and resilience in times of multiple crises will take centre stage. The aim is to develop strategies that support people, especially children, in dealing with change and adapting to new challenges. The close networking between the Tyrol and Krems sites and with university clinics forms an important basis for this.
In her work, Silvia Exenberger-Vanham combines clinical psychology, positive psychology and comparative cultural research to create an approach that does not reduce people to their burdens, but instead focuses on their development and coping potential.
