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Name: Sophie Lauenroth

Occcupation: Graduate psychologist

Education: M.Sc. Psychologie, London

Book: „Du darfst heilen“, Goldegg Verlag

You only started offering your knowledge as a psychologist on social media in 2020. Are you surprised by your rapid success?

Yes, absolutely! At the time, I saw the videos more as a meaningful hobby that was not only fun for me, but could also help others. I would never have thought that I could turn my hobby into a career. But I'm incredibly grateful for that. It doesn't feel like work to me, but like a vocation.

How did your first book come about? Why is childhood trauma an area that is so important to you?

I had a good childhood myself. Nevertheless, I was already very interested in the area of trauma-related disorders during my bachelor's degree, which is why I wrote my bachelor's thesis on post-traumatic stress disorder and my master's thesis on dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as "multiple personality"). I found it frightening to see the fates people live with and how they manage to find new courage. In the book, I deal with trauma-related disorders, but at the same time I also talk about "smaller" situations that can be traumatic for a child. This area needs a lot more education and research to protect future generations and, of course, to ensure that people get the help they need.

How do you deal with this huge responsibility?

I am very aware of my responsibility and am always careful to make scientifically sound statements in my videos and, if necessary, I also research research results to ensure that my statements are correct. It is very important to me to educate people about mental illness and mental health.

You are known as Tiktok or Instagram Psychologist. I think your videos are incredibly well done. The videos also raise a lot of questions, at least according to the comments. How do you deal with them?

I try - as far as I can - to answer important questions (that are relevant for understanding) in the comments or private messages. Unfortunately, due to the large number of questions, I can't answer them all individually. However, I organise my content largely according to the questions and requests of my viewers, which is why, if a question comes up several times, I make a follow-up video in which I address a frequently asked question.

What do you think about the medium of Tiktok, which many people generally believe has a harmful effect on young people?

With Tiktok, there is a huge risk of getting sucked into a spell and wasting valuable life time on the app. I myself only use Tiktok to upload my videos as I am very aware of the harmful effects. I think young people should be taught in school how to use social media and how to limit their use. This is a big challenge, but something along these lines must be done to protect children and young people. 

How do you view advice on social media from people who have no psychological training?

In general, I think it's great when people give each other advice on social media and want to help each other. As long as the tips are justifiable and scientifically correct, I have nothing against people without psychological training giving advice. I just think it's important that psychological counselling or therapy is only offered by "professionals", as otherwise there is a risk that people won't get the help they need, the methods used may even have harmful effects on the person seeking help or they may simply be ripped off. My tip to all those seeking help: Please first check whether this person has a sound education/study in the field of psychology before you seek their advice. 

What made you decide to study psychology?



I already had psychology as a subject at school and I really enjoyed it back then. I always found it interesting to understand the background to human behaviour and I just find it fulfilling to help people and see a smile on their face when they make progress. 

©Sophie Lauenroth