Sigrun Vehling

Sigrun Vehling is a Researcher and Head of a research group at the Department of Medical Psychology within the Faculty of Medicine at University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). Her work focuses on existential distress, psychotherapy interventions, and mental health challenges in patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers. She holds a PD Dr. phil. (Privatdozent) in Psychology and is a licensed Psychological Psychotherapist.

Research Interests
Her research explores existential psychology in chronic illness, psychodynamic psychotherapy for physical illness, demoralization, and mental disorders in oncology patients. She has pioneered the ORPHYS treatment manual for short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy in serious physical illness.

Key Contributions
Her cohort studies on existential distress in advanced cancer patients and systematic reviews on death anxiety have advanced palliative care practices. She also investigates the role of attachment theory and social interactions in psychological adaptation to terminal illness.

Professional Roles
In addition to her research leadership, she provides clinical psychotherapy services through the Center for Psychosocial Medicine at UKE. She collaborates with international teams on projects like the Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM) trial.

Labs/Teams
Affiliated with the Center for Psychosocial Medicine's Medical Psychology division, contributing to multidisciplinary palliative care and oncology initiatives.