Dr. Thomas Oberlechner

Current Position:
  • Senior Research Professor
  • Department Head of the Psychology Faculty, Webster University, Vienna, Austria
  • Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist

Country of Origin: Austria

Email:  thomaso[at]webster.edu

Courses taught at Webster

  • Introduction to Psychology
  • Psychology of Decision-Making
  • Personality Theory, Interpersonal Communication
  • Introduction to Counseling
  • Organizational Psychology
  • Group Therapy and Group Dynamics
  • Interpersonal Relations
  • Abnormal Psychology
  • Introduction to Psychoanalytic Theory

Education

  • Ph.D. (Habilitation, University of Vienna, 2006)
  • Dr. phil. (University of Vienna, 1997)
  • Mag. phil. (University of Vienna, 1991)
  • Ed.M. Counseling (Harvard Graduate School of Education, 1989)

Background and Facts

I completed my studies of psychology and law in Austria at University of Vienna and in the US at Harvard. I am also a licensed clinical psychologist and psychotherapist. Since 1992, I have been with Webster University Vienna where I teach, conduct research, meet with clients in the Psychological Counseling Service, and coordinate the psychology department.

After the completion of my studies, I began my career as psychologist working in a Psychiatric Hospital and consulting a large Austrian company in various organizational projects. Today, besides my tasks at Webster, I see clients in my private practice for psychotherapy and coaching, and train psychotherapists in my function as senior therapist of the Association of Rogerian Psychotherapy. When there is extra time, I enjoy conducting groups in the health care system and conducting executive seminars for profit and non-profit organizations on such topics such as leadership, personality development, communication, and team work.

Thinking about my research I realize that I have always liked building bridges between various fields and interdisciplinary thinking. Today, an important part of my research focuses on human decision making and the psychological and behavioral processes affecting financial market participants. My adventurous explorations into psychological aspects of financial markets have led me into the trading floors of many of the world’s leading financial institutions; results of this research have appeared in academic and professional journals and were featured by such news media as Washington Post, German financial television, BBC, Neue Zürcher Zeitung and leading Austrian newspapers. However, I have also been interested in questions of ethics and psychotherapy, such as the therapeutic relationship as a context for personal growth, and the link between psychoanalytic and humanistic approaches to understanding personality and therapy.

I love travelling and spending time with good friends. Ever since I was little, I have enjoyed staying in bed with a good book. Reflecting about my classes and my “teaching philosophy” quickly leads me to think about learning rather than teaching. What I like to create in classrooms are fearless settings which involve both the students and me in a common exploration of a field; a learning process that allows everybody to learn from others; an adventure that makes the group more and more curious about the things we explore. In my experience, good learning has to do as much with the people you are with and the relationship to these people as with the topic. Good learning always invites the question what something means to you personally.

Selected Publications

  • Gephart, R.P., Van Maanen, J., & Oberlechner, T. (2009). Organizations and Risk in Late Modernity. Organization Studies, 30, 141–155.
     
  •  Oberlechner, T., & Hocking, S. (2004). Information Sources, News, and Rumors in Financial Markets: Insights into the Foreign Exchange Market. Journal of Economic Psychology, 25, 407–424.
     
  •  Oberlechner, T. (2004). Perceptions of Successful Traders by Foreign Exchange Professionals. The Journal of Behavioral Finance, 5, 1, 23-31.
     
  •  Oberlechner, T., Slunecko, T., & Kronberger, N. (2004). Surfing the Money Tides: Understanding the Foreign Exchange Market through Metaphors. British Journal of Social Psychology, 43, 133–156.
     
  •  Oberlechner, T. (2001). Importance of Technical and Fundamental Analysis in the European Foreign Exchange Market. International Journal of Finance and Economics, 6, 81-93.