Prof. Dr. Sarah Wilker
Sarah Wilker is Professor of Global Mental Health at Ulm University and a licensed clinical psychologist trained in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for adults and children. She studied Psychology at the University of Trier, where research stays and internships in Uganda and South Africa during her studies first shaped her interest in global mental health. She received her PhD from Ulm University, where she examined biological risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and their role in treatment outcomes in post-conflict settings.
Following her doctoral work, she held postdoctoral positions at Ulm and Bielefeld University, where she led and coordinated research projects on trauma-focused psychotherapies and mental health care for refugees, including community-based and stepped-care approaches.
Her research focuses on trauma-related mental disorders in the context of war, conflict, and forced displacement, with particular emphasis on treatment development and evaluation, implementation of scalable interventions, and improving access to mental health care.
Contact
Sarah Wilker
Head of Department Global Mental Health
✉ Sarah Wilker
☎ +49-(0)731/50 30950
Π 47.01.415
Consultation hours
by appointment
Research interests
- Trauma-related mental disorders in contexts of war, conflict, and forced displacement
- Development, evaluation, and implementation of scalable psychological interventions
- Low-threshold and community-based approaches to mental health care
- Personalized allocation to mental health treatments for trauma survivors
- Perinatal mental health in contexts of adversity and trauma
- Access to mental health care for migrants and displaced populations
Selected Awards and Honors
| 2017 | Research bonus of the Ulm University society and Ulm University to acknowledge excellent postdoctoral research |
| 2017 | Ph.D. award of the Ulm University society |
| 2016 | Young Academics Award including travel grant to attend the German-African research workshop on refugee mental health and mental health service systems, Nairobi, Kenia |
| 2015 | Young Academics Award of the German-Speaking Society for Psychotraumatology (Deutschsprachige Gesellschaft für Psychotraumatologie, DeGPT) |
| 2014 | Finalist of the Engagement Award of the German National Academic Foundation |
| 2011- 2014 | Ph.D scholarship awarded by the German National Academic Foundation |
| 2008- 2011 | Scholarship awarded by the German National Academic Foundatio |
Third-Party Funded Projects
- 2025 – 2028 — German Research Foundation (DFG):
“One Size Fits All? Towards Individual Prediction of Treatment Success for PTSD in Post-Conflict Settings (TRAUMA-FIT)”
(D-CH Lead Agency Programme; Coordinating PI: Dr. Sarah Wilker (D), Co-PI: PD Dr. Naser Morina (CH)) - 2024 – 2027 — German Research Foundation (DFG):
“Understanding the Etiology of Perinatal Mental Health Problems in Contexts of Trauma and Adversity – Towards the Development of a Trauma-Informed Treatment”
(PI: Dr. Sarah Wilker) - 2024 – 2027 — European Union (AMIF):
“School-Based Screening, Support and Referral System”
(Co-PIs: Prof. Tobias Hecker, Dr. Katharin Hermenau, Prof. Kayvan Bozorghmehr, Prof. Dr. Sarah Wilker)
Publications
Publication lists can be found here:
scholar.google.de/citations
www.researchgate.net/profile/Sarah-Wilker