Mar Rus-Calafell is a Professor of Clinical Psychology and Digital Psychotherapy at the Faculty of Psychology of the Ruhr University Bochum, and a licensed clinical psychologist.

Mar completed her undergraduate studies in psychology at the University of the Balearic Islands and received her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of Barcelona, awarded with the highest possible grade (Summa Cum Laude) and Best Thesis Award of that year. She complemented her PhD studies with a scholarship from the League of European Research Universities (LERU), to attend the distinguished training on Development of Leadership Skills from Employment in Enterprise, Government and Academia at the Sorbonne University in Paris. She then started as a post-doc and clinical psychologist at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London (UK), where she coordinated a large clinical trial to test the efficacy of AVATAR therapy (a novel digital intervention for auditory hallucinations in psychosis). In 2016, she was awarded the National Institute Health Research (NIHR) Independent Researcher Award to continue her clinical research in psychosis. In 2017, she started working as a clinical psychologist and research fellow with the Oxford-Cognitive Approaches to Psychosis (O-CAP) team at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford. In 2020, she was awarded the prestigious Sofja Kovalevskaja Award (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and Ministry of Education and Research, Germany) and she became the independent research group leader of the Young VOices Research and Interventions (YVORI) research group, which is based at the Mental Health Research and Treatment Centre (MHRTC, Ruhr-Universität Bochum). In 2021, Mar was selected for AcademiaNet – a database profile of excellent female researchers from all disciplines.

Her research focus through her clinical and research career is the understanding and treatment of mental health disorders, and psychosis specifically, and the application of digital technologies to improve assessment and treatment of these disorders. She is also and invited lecturer at other European universities, has been part of tribunals for PhD ceremonies and is a reviewer of more than 20 journals and science organisations.

Room: BF 08/22
E-Mail: mar.rus-calafell@rub.de

Kirsten Geiser joined our team in October 2023 as an admin at the Chair of Clinical Psychology and Digital Psychotherapy. She completed her training as a tax clerk in 2010 and has already worked in the areas of tax and commercial processing, administration and management.

Room: BF 08/20
Tel.: +49 234 32 19477
E-Mail: kirsten.geiser@rub.de

Julia C. Schmitt is a research associate (Postdoc) at the Chair of Clinical Psychology and Digital Psychotherapy and project leader of Understanding paranoid thinking in times of ethnic diversity: the role of reasoning biases and their potential for community-based culturally adapted interventions (PARANOID), a German Center for Mental Health (DZPG) project. The project aims to investigate risk factors for paranoid thinking among the general population in Germany and to develop culturally sensitive preventive interventions based on that.

In her PhD project, Julia evaluated a transdiagnostic online CBT intervention for the prevention of anxiety and depressive disorders in adolescents in Spain. During a big part of her PhD studies, Julia was working as a research assistant at the Department of Psychopathology, Evaluation, and Treatment of Mental Disorders at the School of Psychology of the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) in Madrid thanks to the prestigious FPU grant awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Universities. In addition, she spent a three-month research stay with Ron Rapee, developer of the Cool Kids programs for the treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents, at Macquarie university in Sydney.

Julia completed her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology at Ruhr University Bochum.

Room: BF 08/21
E-Mail: Julia.Schmitt@rub.de

Grace Kiernan is a PhD student in clinical psychology and digital psychotherapy research in the Young Voices Research and Interventions (YVORI) research group, supervised by Prof. Mar Rus-Calafell and Prof. Lucia Valmaggia. She is also a clinical psychologist and currently undergoing psychotherapeutic training. Grace completed her undergraduate studies in Psychology at the University of Twente in 2021. She then started as a clinical psychologist at the LWL clinic Paderborn. Her research currently focuses on the role of social adversity and social difficulties in early psychosis.

Tel.: +49 234 32 19478
Vita
E-Mail: grace.kiernan@rub.de

Melina Luker is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology and Digital Psychotherapy working group and has been part of YVORI since 2024. As a clinical psychologist, she is completing her training as a psychological psychotherapist at RUB at the same time. Melina completed her psychology degree at the University of East Anglia (UK), followed by a master's degree at the University of Hildesheim. As the study and therapy coordinator of the AVATAR_VRSocial project, she is researching the efficacy and feasibility of AVATAR therapy for distressing voices in people with early psychosis. She is also investigating transdiagnostic experiences of hearing voices and the role of traumatic experiences in the occurrence of voices.

Vita
E-Mail: melina.luker@rub.de

Tessa Wirtz is a doctoral student at the Chair of Clinical Psychology and Digital Psychotherapy and part of Prof. Mar Rus-Calafell’s YVORI team. She studied clinical psychology and psychotherapy at the Ruhr University Bochum. At the beginning of 2025, she completed her master’s degree and her license as a psychotherapist. As study and therapy coordinator of the AVATAR VRSocial project, Tessa is researching the effectiveness of AVATAR therapy for people who hear distressing voices in the context of early psychosis.

E-Mail: Tessa.Wirtz@rub.de

Ekincan Tas has been a member of YVORI since November 2022, where he develops virtual reality simulations intended for psychological research. His responsibilities also include managing the VR-Lab and providing technical support to his colleagues in conducting VR studies. He has completed his bachelor's degree of Applied Computer Science at the Ruhr-University Bochum and also has a background in game development.

E-Mail: ekincan.tas@rub.de

Maren started working at the Chair of Clinical Psychology and Digital Psychotherapy as a research worker in October 2023, after completing an internship. She is currently studying her master’s degree in clinical psychology and psychotherapy at the Ruhr Universität Bochum and works in an emergency shelter for young people on the side. She finished her bachelor´s degree with a thesis on gender specific effects of self-efficacy on stress reactivity.

E-Mail: maren.marzinzik@rub.de

Mathis joined the Chair of Clinical Psychology and Digital Psychotherapy as a research assistant in May 2024, where he is now part of the YVORI research group. He is now studying his Master's degree in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the Ruhr University Bochum. Before that he finished his Bachelor’s degree with a thesis on mechanisms behind anxiety sensitivity in panic. Currently Mathis is writing his Master‘s thesis on possible influences on the relationships between stigmatization, quality of life and help-seeking in psychosis.

E-Mail: mathis.luettmann@rub.de

Filomena joined the Chair of Clinical Psychology and Digital Psychotherapy as a research assistant in March 2025, where she is now part of the YVORI research group. She is studying her Master's degree in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the Ruhr University Bochum. Before that, she finished her Bachelor’s degree with a thesis on the relationship between parental stress, emotion regulation and inhibitory control.

E-Mail: filomena.valentino@rub.de

Maximilian joined the Chair of Clinical Psychology and Digital Psychotherapy as a research assistant in March 2025, where he is now part of the YVORI research group. He is studying his Master's degree in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the Ruhr University Bochum. Before that, he finished his bachelor's degree with a thesis on the relationship between leisure time physical activity and anxiety sensitivity in panic disorder.

E-Mail: maximilian.niggemeier@rub.de

Negar has been working as a research assistant at the Chair of Clinical Psychology and Digital Psychotherapy since December 2025, where she is involved in the project Understanding paranoid thinking in times of ethnic diversity (PARANOID). She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Cognitive Neuroscience at Ruhr University Bochum. She previously completed her Bachelor’s degree with a thesis on gender differences and hemispheric asymmetry in face recognition using an EEG priming paradigm.

E-Mail: negar.khalili@rub.de