Watercolour: a woman with long curls in a warm brown dress holding a notepad, seen from behind

Dr Theresa J. S. Wallner

Psychotherapist in advanced training under teaching supervision

Doctorate in Psychology (Dr. rer. soc.)
Specialist training in behaviour therapy (ongoing)
Psychosocial worker
Therapy companion dog training

About Me

For me, psychotherapy means working together to create a trusting and appreciative space in which all thoughts and feelings have room – especially the quiet, contradictory or painful ones. Change often begins with the courage to turn towards one’s own experience with openness and compassion.

My professional path combines research, psychosocial work and clinical practice. This solid foundation provides orientation and ensures quality – but the focus is always on the individual person with their own story and personal concerns. I work in an evidence-based way while remaining open to the individual aspects that cannot be fully measured.

My studies and work have taken me to Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Scotland, France, Latvia, Morocco and Argentina. These intercultural experiences have shown me how important it is to meet people within their own life realities – with curiosity, respect and an awareness that every life path is shaped by its own circumstances. Despite – or perhaps because of – my openness to the world, I now live with my partner, our child and our two dogs in my chosen home, Vienna.

Dr Theresa J. S. Wallner in her therapy room

Background & qualifications

Watercolour: a desk with a stack of books, an open notebook, glasses, a teacup, a plant and a lamp
Training in psychology & psychotherapy
  • Psychotherapeutic specialist training in “Behaviour Therapy”; in private practice since 2026 as a psychotherapist in advanced training under teaching supervision
    Austrian Society for Behaviour Therapy (ÖGVT)
  • Psychotherapeutic propaedeutic training
    Postgraduate Center, University of Vienna (HoPP)
  • Doctorate in Psychology (Dr. rer. soc.)
    Graduate School “Statistical Modeling in Psychology”, University of Mannheim
Professional experience in psychosocial & psychotherapeutic settings
  • Psychotherapeutic work in inpatient behaviour therapy (focus on depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders) & acute psychiatry
    University Hospital for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, AKH Vienna
  • Psychosocial support and relief for families of children with autism, ADHD and/or other mental health conditions
    pro mente Wien, Sozialwerke Clara Fey Wien
  • Socio-educational support for children and adolescents with cognitive impairments, autism and ADHD
    Wiener Kinderfreunde, La Crèche de Tanger, Glück-auf-Schule Marl
  • Socio-educational support for traumatised children and adolescents in a residential group
    Sozialwerke Clara Fey Wien
  • Basic care for abandoned babies and orphans
    La Crèche de Tanger
Research and teaching in psychology
  • University of Vienna, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology
  • University of Mannheim, Department of Psychology
  • Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors at TU Dortmund, Department of Psychology and Neurosciences
  • Kienbaum Institute @ ISM for Leadership & Transformation
Professional memberships
  • Austrian Society for Behaviour Therapy (ÖGVT)
  • Psychotherapeutic on-call service (Psychotherapeutischer Bereitschaftsdienst)
  • German Psychological Society (DGPs)
  • German Society for Behavioural Medicine and Behaviour Modification (DGVM)
  • Austrian Professional Association of Dog Trainers and Behaviour Consultants (ÖBdH, therapy companion dogs)
Scientific contributions

Publications

  • Wallner, T. J. S., Christlein, N. C., & König, L. M. (in press). Between love and pain: A qualitative analysis of menstrual distress and romantic relationships. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 18(5), e70219. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.70219
  • Sonnentag, S., Völker, J., & Koch, T. J. S. (in press). Mental contrasting with implementation intentions: An intervention to promote physical activity in working adults. European Journal of Health Psychology, 33(1), 16-34. https://doi.org/10.1027/2512-8442/a000195
  • König, L. M., Volpi, L., & Koch, T. J. S. (2026). Conjoint analysis of social inequality indicators in diet and physical activity app (non-)users: Representative online surveys in Austria, Germany and Italy. Digital Health,12, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076261429621
  • Völker, J., Koch, T. J. S., & Sonnentag, S. (2026). Healthy intentions: A daily diary intervention study on physical activity and unhealthy snacking at work. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000428
  • Koch, T. J. S., Christlein, N. C., & König, L. M. (2025). Between love and pain: A qualitative analysis of menstrual distress and romantic relationships. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/xekdn_v1
  • Koch, T. J. S., Cristian, A.-G., & König, L. M. (2025). Healthy but hazy? Consumers’ understanding of the healthiness and nutritional value of food groups. Appetite, 215, 108244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2025.108244
  • König, L. M., Volpi, L., & Koch, T. J. S. (2025). Socio-demographic characteristics of diet and physical activity app users and non-users in Austria, Germany and Italy. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/sj5nk_v1
  • Koch, T. J. S., & König, L. M. (2025). Guess what’s on your plate: Testing potential correlates of nutrient (mis-)estimation. PsyArXiv. https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/jv79z_v1
  • Koch, T. J. S., Cristian, A.-G., & König, L. M. (2025). Healthy but hazy? Consumers’ understanding of the healthiness and nutritional value of food groups. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/m6uq4
  • Nesher Shoshan, H., Koch, T. J. S., & Wehrt, W. (2024). Beyond surface and deep acting: Investigating interaction avoidance in coworkers’ daily relationships and its consequences. Work & Stress, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2024.2435676
  • Koch, T. J. S. (2024). Erholungsparadoxon: Erst mental abschalten, dann Sport treiben. Wirtschaftspsychologie Heute. Link to article
  • Koch, T. J. S., Nesher Shoshan, H., Völker, J., & Sonnentag, S. (2024). Psychological detachment matters right after work: Engaging in physical exercise after stressful workdays. International Journal of Stress Management, 31(3), 266–278. https://doi.org/10.1037/str0000312
  • Völker, J., Wiegelmann, M., Koch, T. J. S., & Sonnentag, S. (2024). It is Monday again: Weekend sleep differentially relates to the workweek via reattachment on Monday. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 45(6), 800–817. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2788
  • Völker, J., Koch, T. J. S., Wiegelmann, M., & Sonnentag, S. (2024). Mind the misalignment: Daily social sleep lag as boundary condition for employees’ recovery. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 45(5), 684–701. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2777
  • Koch, T. J. S., Arnold, M., Völker, J., & Sonnentag, S. (2024). Eat healthy, feel better: Are differences in employees’ longitudinal healthy-eating trajectories reflected in better psychological well-being? Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 16(3), 1305–1325. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12529
  • Koch, T. J. S. (2023). Healthy body – healthy mind? Health behavior and well-being in work life [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Mannheim.
  • Koch, T. J. S., Völker, J., & Sonnentag, S. (2023). Healthy and successful: How health-behavior goal progress and work-task progress interact in predicting affective states. Stress and Health, 40(2), e3295. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3295
  • Völker, J., Casper, A., Koch, T. J. S., & Sonnentag, S. (2023). It’s a match: The relevance of matching chronotypes for dual-earner couples’ daily recovery from work. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 28(3), 174–191. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000351
  • Koch, T. J. S. (2022). Conquering your inner bastard after stressful workdays [peer-reviewed blog post]. Link to post
  • Digutsch, J., Koch, T. J. S., & Diestel, S. (2022). Affective shifts during off-job time and next-day subjective vitality: The moderating role of positive stress beliefs. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/hp45b
  • Sonnentag, S., Kottwitz, M. U., Koch, T. J. S., & Völker, J. (2022). Enrichment and conflict between work and health behaviors: New scales for assessing how work relates to physical exercise and healthy eating. Occupational Health Science, 7(2), 251–296. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41542-022-00134-8
  • Nigg, C. R., Fuchs, R., Gerber, M., Jekauc, D., Koch, T., Krell-Roesch, J., … & Sattler, M. C. (2020). Assessing physical activity through questionnaires – A consensus of best practices and future directions. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 50, 101715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101715

Conference contributions

  • Koch, T. J. S., & Volpi, L. (2025). Menstrual health in context: Societal, interpersonal, and individual perspectives. Symposium organized at the 39th Annual Conference of the EHPS. Groningen, the Netherlands.
  • Koch, T. J. S., Christlein, N., & König, L. M. (2025). Between love and pain: A qualitative analysis of menstrual distress and romantic relationships. Talk presented at the 39th Annual Conference of the EHPS. Groningen, the Netherlands.
  • Koch, T. J. S., Christlein, N., & König, L. M. (2025). Between love and pain: A qualitative analysis of menstrual distress and romantic relationships. Talk given at the 18th Congress of the ICBM. Vienna, Austria.
  • Koch, T. J. S., & König, L. (2024). Verstärken Smartphone-Apps zur Gesundheitsförderung soziale Ungleichheiten? Talk given at the 9th Congress of the ÖPGK. Salzburg, Austria.
  • Koch, T. J. S., Arnold, M., Völker, J. & Sonnentag, S. (2024). Gesunde Ernährung – besseres Wohlbefinden? Unterschiede in langfristigen Ernährungsverläufen und psychisches Wohlbefinden von Arbeitnehmenden über die Zeit. Talk given at the 53rd Congress of the DGPs. Vienna, Austria.
  • Koch, T. J. S., & König, L. M. (2024). Does misestimation of nutrient contents matter for (un-)healthy diets? Talk given at the 38th Annual Conference of the EHPS. Cascais, Portugal.
  • Koch, T. J. S., Nesher Shoshan, H., Völker, J., & Sonnentag, S. (2023). Psychological detachment matters right after work: Engaging in physical exercise after stressful workdays. Talk given at the 21st EAWOP Congress. Katowice, Poland.
  • Koch, T. J. S., Völker, J., & Sonnentag, S. (2023). Healthy and successful: How health-behaviour goal progress and work-task progress interact in predicting affective states. Talk given at the 21st EAWOP Congress. Katowice, Poland.
  • Koch, T. J. S., Nesher Shoshan, H., Völker, J. & Sonnentag, S. (2022). Mentales Abschalten von der Arbeit als Voraussetzung sportlicher Aktivität an Tagen mit hohen Arbeitsbelastungen. Talk given at the 52nd Congress of the DGPs. Hildesheim, Germany.
  • Koch, T. J. S., Nesher Shoshan, H., Völker, J. & Sonnentag, S. (2022). Psychological detachment matters right after work: Engaging in physical exercise after stressful workdays. Talk given at the IOPS/SMiP Summer Conference. Leuven, Belgium.
  • Koch, T. J. S. (2021). Between work, snacking, and sports. Talk given at the 17th Young Scientists Workshop of the Section AOW of the DGPs. Hagen, Germany.