Nils Altner

Prof. Dr. Nils Altner is a Professor at ASH Berlin (Alice Salomon Hochschule Berlin), specializing in mindfulness, self-care, and embodied approaches within educational and social work contexts. His academic work bridges theory and practice, focusing on how mindfulness and compassion-based methods can transform educational environments and professional practices.

Altner's research interests center on professional self-care, clinical social work, resilience and health promotion, embodied aesthetics, and deep ecological-transformative education. His work explores the intersections between mindfulness practices, democracy education, and sustainability, with particular attention to how body-phenomenological approaches can enhance qualitative research and conscious value-based relationship building. He investigates how presence- and body-related dialogue formats can foster deeper connections in educational settings while addressing issues of shadow work and (inner) decolonization.

His publication history reveals a consistent trajectory from early work on mindfulness in educational settings (Qigong in Schools, 2004) through applications in specific contexts (Mindfulness in Kindergarten, 2012; Mindfulness and Health, 2006) to more recent comprehensive explorations of mindfulness in professional development (Strengthening Resilience for Teachers, 2023) and digital society (Personality Development & Digitalization, 2024). A notable pattern shows increasing integration of mindfulness with systemic approaches to education, social work, and ecological consciousness.

Altner currently leads the FRIDA research and implementation project focused on Peacefulness, Inner Democratization and Mindfulness in Higher Education. He also offers specialized training programs, including multipliers for GAMMA health, mindfulness and compassion in human-centered work (scheduled for October 2025-February 2026), and Mind-Body Medicine in cooperation with the Erich Rothenfußer Academy in Essen.

His professional philosophy emphasizes embodied ethics of (self)care and democracy-promoting, deep ecological-transformative education, with active support for the Inner Development Goals of the Sustainable Development Goals framework.