Curriculum Vitae  Jan Bleckwedel

Jan Bleckwedel was born 1951 in Hamburg as the youngest of three brothers. He is luckily married to Eva Frank-Bleckwedel for over fourty years, has two grown-up children, one granddaughter and two grandson.

Jan studied philosophy and psychology from 1972 to 1978 in Freiburg and holds a diploma in psychology. He is certified in systemic therapy, family therapy and psychodrama group therapy, approbated as a clinical psychotherapist and legally recognized as  clinical supervisor, team counsellor and teaching supervisor (DGSv, DGSF, BDP).

While studying, he was trained in the basics of conversational therapy, behavioral therapy, psychoanalysis and gestalt therapy.

He worked as trainee in a psychiatric hospital, in a psychological service at a school, in a project for children in a sink estate and built up a counseling center for self-help groups at the University of Oldenburg. 1978 to 1998 he worked as a staff member at different places (child guidance clinic, family counseling center) with children, juveniles, parents, families, couples and groups. For some years he was in a directing position.

Since 1988 he is engaged in teaching and gives workshops in Germany, Europe and China, focused on the combination of systemic thinking and action methods. He is an acknowledged trainee teacher and teaching supervisor at different training institutes for systemic therapy and family therapy, psychodrama group therapy, supervision and team counseling.

From 1998 to present he works self-employed in his own practice in Bremen. Since then he is mainly engaged as a clinical supervisor, team counsellor and organisational consultant for non-profit organisations and their managing staff in the field of child care, health care (psychiatric departments, ambulatories and hospitals) and public welfare. He works for schools and cultural centers and coaches artists and businessmen and -women.

Jan wrote articles on different topics (early dysfunction-early skills, borderline dysfunction, the education of therapists and how therapists can deal with trauma and the experience of violence in a self-caring way). He is the author of: „Systemische Therapie in Aktion, kreative Methoden in der systemischen Arbeit mit Familien und Paaren“. (Systemic therapy in action, creative methods in the systemic work with families and couples), 2008 (fourth edition 2014), Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Goettingen; „Menschliche Beziehungsgestaltung. Eine systemische Theorie des Zwischenmenschlichen“ (How Humans Built Relations. A Systemic Theorie of Interhuman Space), 2022, Vandenhoeck&Ruprecht, Göttingen.

Jans main interest is directed towards the integration of psychotherapy beyond schools in a general systemic-developmental perspective. He created a navigation system (station model) which gives orientation in the process of therapy and enables therapists to varying settings and to combine creative methods. He believes that the future of psychotherapy will be creative, multidimensional and focused on sustainable solutions and development – specific for different cultures, fields and every different case. Currently he works on the origins of  interhuman relationbuilding.

Jan is the initiating member of the advisory board of Stiftung Refugio, a foundation to aid the work of REFUGIO, a treatment center for refugees and survivors of torture, war and violence in Bremen, Germany. He is also engaged in the topic of climate change & mental health.