Dr. Mario Lehenbauer-Baum is still involved in continuing research and emerging trends of psychology (such as internet addiction, anxiety disorders and internet gaming addiction); he presented findings nationally and internationally. He is also still an educator for graduate and doctorate students who are pursuing their goal of becoming licensed psychologists themselves (e.g., he is still teaching at Sigmund Freud University in Vienna, Austria).
Working in research and consulting since 2008, Dr. Mario Lehenbauer-Baum is able to draw from his experience from a) research and science (working as a researcher at universities) and b) practical experience as a psychologist providing services for individuals, couples and groups. Having received his education and training in both Vienna, Austria (THE birthplace of modern psychotherapy) and Nashville, Tennessee, it puts him in a unique position to provide valuable knowledge and insights. Whether you are looking for research or consulting services for your organization, you can benefit from his clinical and research expertise and expect professional and data-driven outcomes.
Dr. Mario Lehenbauer-Baum offers consulting services in English and German in the following areas:
- Psychological studies
- Data evaluation/analyses in connection with policies (Dr. Mario Lehenbauer-Baum worked as a Statistical Research Specialist for the Tennessee Department for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, and is very familiar with data-driven outcomes for policy makers)
- Data collection and analyses
- Data presentation (depending on the audience, Dr. Baum is familiar with creating reports and presentations tailored to certain scientific and non-scientific audiences)
- Scientific writing and reviews, reviews of publications (he is familiar with writing grant proposals, and he is still active as a reviewer for certain psychology journals)
- Applying cognitive-behavioral and biofeedback treatment methods
Please send any inquiries about research and consulting services to office@thriveinlifepsychology.com .
Examples of research activities:
Dr. Mario Lehenbauer-Baum is able to provide unique expertise on combining psychology and new technology. Please find a few examples of prior research and consulting work below:
Video games for health
Almost 75% of adolescents and young adults spend their time online and/or playing games on mobile devices and game consoles. Dr. Mario Lehenbauer-Baum sees this as a useful benefit to use psychological interventions in games and apps via internet.
In his consulting work he also focused on digital games and apps. As a psychologist and avid gamer, he is able to provide expertise and knowledge about psychological interventions, and how to include them in games.
Virtual reality
Dr. Mario Lehenbauer-Baum was one of the founding members of the Virtual Reality Laboratory at the University of Vienna, an inter-departmental cooperation with Univ.-Prof. Dr. Helmut Hlavacs from the department of entertainment computing/faculty of computer science. Starting 2008, one of the first scenarios he developed was a virtual auditorium for the treatment of social fears.
Project-related publication:
Kothgassner, O., Felnhofer, A., Beutl, L., Hlavacs, H., Lehenbauer, M., & Stetina, B. (2012). A virtual training tool for giving talks. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 7522, 53-66.
Online-based social skills trainings for adolescents and adults
Funded by the Federal Austrian Ministry of Science, Dr. Mario Lehenbauer-Baum developed an online-based social skills training for adolescents and adults (in conjunction with Dr. Birgit Stetina and programmers). Conducting a pilot study, he found highly relevant effects suggesting that online-based trainings are effective: an increase of social skills as well as a decrease of social fears was measurable.
Project-related publications:
Lehenbauer, M., Kothgassner, O., Kryspin-Exner, I., & Stetina, B. U. (2013). An online self-administered social skills training for young adults: results of a pilot study. Computers & Education, 61, 217-224. doi: dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.09.007.
Lehenbauer, M. & Stetina, B.U. (2009). Virtuelle Simulationen, Virtuelle Realitäten: Neue Medien in der Behandlung. Verhaltenstherapie und Verhaltensmedizin, 30 (3), 368 – 383.
Lehenbauer, M. & Stetina, B.U. (2009). Coping with disease: Internet and social phobia. Psychology & Health, 24 (Supplement 1), 245.