معرفی
Prof. Dr. Fatma Çelik serves as Professor of Lifespan Psychology at the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf within the Faculty of Social Sciences and Cultural Studies. Since March 2022, she has held this professorship, and since April 2025, she simultaneously serves as Acting Head of the research and transfer focus for child protection and children's rights in NRW at the HSD and Deputy Head of the BA Social Work/Social Pedagogy Programme. Her academic career includes previous positions as Acting Professor of Psychology and Social Medicine at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences (Oct. 2018-Feb. 2022) and Research Associate at the Chair of Developmental Psychology, University of Wuppertal (Sep. 2010-Sep. 2018).
Prof. Çelik completed her doctorate (Dr. phil.) at the University of Wuppertal in 2015, following a Diploma in Psychology from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (2010) and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology & Social Pedagogy from TU Dortmund (2008). She further specialized through training as a child and adolescent psychotherapist with systemic family therapy focus (2016-2021).
Her research spans critical areas including sexualized violence in childhood (focusing on prevention, science communication, and mental health literacy), digital child protection strategies, self-efficacy promotion in adolescence, and emotional vulnerability sensitivity across the lifespan. Prof. Çelik's work integrates developmental, clinical, and social psychology perspectives to address complex issues affecting children, adolescents, and families, with particular attention to digital transformation's impact on child safety.
Prof. Çelik's recent publications reveal a strong emphasis on practical applications of psychological research in social work contexts. Her work addresses contemporary challenges such as pandemic impacts on youth mental health (PsyGeCo project), digital safety for children (Digital Streetwork against online grooming), and breaking taboos around childhood sexual abuse. She leads significant research initiatives including SW(OKJA) (2025-2027) on self-efficacy in child and youth welfare services and an international comparative study on knowledge about childhood sexual abuse (2023-2024).
As an active member of the Research Institution for Mental Health, Health Promotion and Self-Determination since 2022, Prof. Çelik contributes to advancing evidence-based practices in her field. Her methodological expertise includes specialized training in attachment assessment techniques, trauma-informed approaches, and systemic family therapy.
In her teaching role, Prof. Çelik focuses on human development in social environments with emphasis on counseling, lifelong protection concepts, development support, health, and social work in demographic change. She maintains regular consultation hours for students on Mondays and Fridays during lecture periods, though notes that supervision commitments for BA and MA theses are unavailable for winter semester 2025/26 and summer semester 2026.
