Prof. Dr. Eric Pfeifer

Appointment:     Professor for Aesthetics and Communication – Emphasis on Music                                   as a Medium

Office hours:     Consultation hours are available on and need to be booked directly                                  via the ILIAS profile of Prof. Dr. habil. Eric Pfeifer.

Professional career  

• Habilitation at the Sigmund Freud University Vienna, Austria: full venia docendi for the entire field of psychotherapy science (2021)
• Visiting scientist at the Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy Freiburg – University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany (since 2021)
• Training as systemic psychotherapist and systemic infant, child, and adolescent psychotherapist (ÖAS in Austria) (2013-2021); registration as a state-approved psychotherapist in Austria (2020)
• Training in logotherapy and existential analysis (according to Viktor E. Frankl); Institute for Logotherapy and Existential Analysis Tübingen/Vienna, Germany/Austria (2017-2019) 
• Professor for “aesthetics and communication – special emphasis on music as a medium” at the Catholic University of Applied Sciences Freiburg, Germany (since 2014)
• Doctorate (PhD): Dr. phil. at the Universität of Augsburg, Germany (topic: “Music therapy as prevention and support for the integration of immigrant and non-immigrant first graders in Austria: A pilot study.”) (2013)
• University course at the University College of Teacher Education Vorarlberg, Austria (2013). Degree: Bachelor of Education (BEd) 
• Freelancer for Feldpartitur GmbH (www.feldpartitur.de) in the field of video research, transcription, and analysis; speaker and workshop-instructor (since 2013)
• University course “Psychotherapeutic Propaedeutics” at the University of Applied Sciences Vorarlberg, Schloss Hofen, Center for Science and Further Education, Austria (2011-2013)
• Master program in music therapy at the University of Augsburg, Germany (2007-2010). Degree: Master of Arts (M.A.) – Music Therapy; registration as a state-approved music therapist in Austria (2010)
• Teacher training at the University College of Teacher Education Vorarlberg, Austria. Subjects: music education and English (2002-2005). Degree: Diplompädagoge (Dipl.-Päd.) 
• Award: “Music active – Music live”: composition prize awarded by the Austri-an Ministry for Education, Science and Culture (composition for solo piano) (2000)
• Psychotherapist, music therapist, teaching therapist (for music therapy, DMtG-approved), counselor, and supervisor in private practice in Austria (since 2009) and Germany (since 2014)
• Music therapist in various clinical (child, adolescent, adult, and geriatric psy-chiatry; neurological, cardiological, and orthopaedic rehabilitation, palliative care, coma vigil) and non-clinical (schools) contexts (since 2008)
• Social worker (2005-2006) and Teacher (2006-2010)

Work and research focus  

• Psychotherapy research
• Nature in psychotherapy and arts therapy
• Nature and mental health, exposure to nature, nature therapy
• Walk and talk psychotherapy
• Meaning-oriented psychotherapy, meaning in life, logotherapy, existential analysis
• Silence
• Music – health – well-being 
• Music therapy
• Perception of time 

Cooperations

• DGLE – German Society for Logotherapy and Existential Analysis e.V. (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Logotherapie und Existenzanalyse e.v.); function: member of the scientific advisory board
• Sigmund Freud University Vienna (Austria); function: doctoral supervisor and lecturer at the Faculty of Psychotherapy Science
• Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy Freiburg – University Medical Center Freiburg (Germany); function: visiting scientist and co-coordinating investigator (see study: “Walk and talk psychotherapy in nature for patients suffering from major depressive disorders”; DRKS; WHO – Inter-national Clinical Trials Registry Platform)
• Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health Freiburg (Germany); function: co-coordinator of several cooperative studies (with PD Dr. Marc Wittmann) on silence, the perception of time, self, and space, expo-sure to nature, meaning in life; 
• IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems (Austria) – Department of Health Sciences (Institute Therapeutic and Midwifery Sciences); function: visiting lecturer and visiting scientist (topics: music therapy, psychotherapy, forest therapy, exposure to nature)

Teaching and research projects  

• “Walk and talk psychotherapy in nature for patients suffering from major de-pressive disorders”; DRKS; WHO – International Clinical Trials Registry Platform)
• Silence, perception of time, mind-wandering (1, 2, and 3)
• Exposure to nature, silence, and Hypnomusictherapy (1 and 2)
• Exposure to silence in nature (1)
• Nature in psychotherapy and Arts Therapy (1)
• Meaning in life, meaning-oriented psychotherapy, meaning-oriented music therapy, logotherapy and existential analysis (1, 2 p. 113-119, and 3)
• Music therapy, music – health – well-being (1, 2, and 3)
• Psychotherapy, systemic family therapy (1 and 2)

Publications