The project team
Project team f.l.t.r. Prof. Dr. Friedrich Linderkamp, Esheref Haxhiu, Eva Lembke, Prof. Dr. Gino Casale, Tobias Becker
Prof. Dr. Friedrich Linderkamp
Project management
Prof. Dr. Friedrich Linderkamp is a professor of rehabilitation sciences with a focus on psychology at the University of Wuppertal, Germany. He studied Clinical Psychology at the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Germany, and at the University of New Orleans (UNO), LA, USA. He received his MA in Clinical Psychology at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg in 1991, his PhD at the University of Dortmund in 1997, and his venia legendi in “Rehabilitation Psychology” there in 2005. From 2007 to 2012, Prof. Linderkamp was a professor of rehabilitation psychology at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg and then moved to the Institute of Educational Research at the University of Wuppertal. Prof. Linderkamp received his license to practice psychotherapy (CBT/VT) in 1999 and specializes in children and adolescents with learning and behavior disorders. He is a reviewer for a wide variety of national and international scientific journals, and a reviewer for the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
Prof. Dr. Gino Casale
Project management
Prof. Dr. Gino Casale is professor for methodology and didactics in learning and emotional-social development at the University of Wuppertal since 2020. Previously, he held the professorship for Emotional and Social Development in Inclusive Schools at the University of Paderborn. After receiving his PhD from the University of Wuppertal, he worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Universities of Cologne and Wuppertal and as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University in Boston (USA).
Gino Casale is the author of over 60 articles, book chapters and monographs. He is an Editorial Board Member of the “International Journal of School & Educational Psychology”, peer reviewer for numerous international journals such as “Behavioral Disorders” or “Frontiers in Psychiatry” and peer reviewer for the German Federal Ministry of Health and the German Research Foundation.
His research focuses on evidence-based prevention concepts for special education in learning and emotional-social development, on the professional competence of teachers for special education, and on digital learning in special education contexts.
Eva Lembke is a doctoral student. She received her Master in Special Education with the focus on emotional and social development and learning 2022 at the University of Wuppertal.
Esheref Haxhiu is doctoral student. He earned his Master’s in Counseling Psychology in 2015 at Sheffield University, England and has diverse international professional experiences in the field of trauma.
Tobias Becker is a teacher in special education. He received his Master´s degree with the focus on emotional and social development and language at the University of Koblenz-Landau in 2016, since then he has been working as a teacher and is specialized in students with refugee background.
Hanna Hoffmann, Hong Nhi Nguyen, Katja Wakke are research assistants and study Master of Education in the field of special education with the focus on emotional and social development and learning at the University of Wuppertal.
Prof. Dr. Michael Krezmien is the director of the Center for Youth Engagement and a professor in the College of Education. Prof. Krezmien conducts research in the areas of special education, school discipline, juvenile justice, emotional and behavioral disorders, and inclusion. Prof. Krezmien devotes much of his research and service efforts to helping children and youth in a social service project in Holyoke, MA, Springfield, MA, and Department of Youth Services in MA. Prof. Krezmien has received more than $4.5 million in external funding from the National Science Foundations, JEHT Foundation, OSEP, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He has published more than 25 articles and book chapters and given more than 75 presentations at national and international conferences.
Prof. Dr. Sarah Fefer is an assistant professor in the Department of Student Development. Her research interests include supporting students with challenging behavior in home and school contexts using multi-tiered systems of support. Her research focuses on positive behavioral supports and family-school partnerships Prof. Fefer teaches at the graduate level in prevention, development, developmental psychopathology, applied behavior analysis, and experimental individual case design. Sarah Fefer received the College of Education’s 2019 Outstanding Teacher Award and became a 2018-2019 Family Research Scholar with the Center for Research on Families.
Prof. Dr. Ian Barron focuses on the efficacy of Progressive Counting (PC) for the treatment of childhood trauma, a novel and promising trauma therapy that uniquely integrates cognitive behavioral therapy and short-term exposure approaches. This approach promises to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma and promote resilience at the individual, family, and community levels. Prof. Barron conducts research on trauma recovery projects in the Middle East and Brazil. His partners are the Children and War Foundation, Bergen; the Center for Applied Research in Education (CARE), Ramallah; and the Child Trauma Institute in the United States.