Jan Heistermann
Researcher, Psychologist & Psychotherapist
About me
Welcome to my website! I was born in 2001 and raised in Essen, Germany. Currently, I am employed at the University of Bochum as a PhD student and researcher at the lab of Prof. Dr. Armin Zlomuzica. I am primarily interested in improving mental health care (exposure therapy) for individuals suffering from anxiety disorders.I have acquired all of my degrees at the University of Bochum. I was amongst the first cohorts of students that completed the new Master of Science track in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy. Therefore, I have acquired two degrees at the end of my studies (Master of Science, Approbation as Psychotherapist according to new German jurisdiction).Since 2025: PhD student at Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience, University of Bochum
2025: Approbation as Psychotherapist (PsychThApprO)
2024: Master of Science Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Bochum
2022: Bachelor of Science Psychology, University of Bochum
News
03.12.2025
I am one of two leaders of the working group "Künstliche Intelligenz in der psychologischen Lehre" (AI in psychological university teaching). Together with many active university teachers, the generous help of the centre for science didactics at Ruhr-University Bochum (https://zfw.rub.de) and university students, we designed and published guidelines on how AI can be incorporated in teaching, essays and theses at the FBZ Bochum. Read more:
Latest research publications
Language disorganization shapes social judgement and relates to autistic traits
Plank, L., Heistermann, J., Groer, G. & Zlomuzica, A. (Preprint)
August 2025: We just published a preprint on PsyArXiv / OSF. We've invited 100 participants who were organized in 50 dyads of two. The dyads were asked to "get to know each other". Using natural language processing models, our results indicate that participants felt closer to conversation partners that employed more predictable language and that had an increased sensitivity to the context of the conversation. For further results, see the preprint below.
Generalization of exposure therapy: Systematic review and recommendations for future research
Kodzaga, I., Heistermann, J. & Zlomuzica, A. (2025)
Journal: Behavior Research and Therapy
July 2025: Our latest review was published in Behavior Research and Therapy. We discuss the current state of research on the generalization of exposure therapy effects and advise future research. Take a look and feel free to reach out!
Learn more about our work at the lab of Prof. Dr. Armin Zlomuzica
Public Work
Science needs to be available to the general public. Research is and has always been a process of discussing, exchanging and evaluating ideas. In my latest effort to make our work available to the public, I presented parts of our research at the art exhibition "Wahrnehmen & verstehen – die Welt, sich selbst und andere“ at the Dortmunder U. A collective effort of the University of Bochum, the University of Duisburg-Essen and the TU Dortmund.
In the course of our studies at Ruhr University Bochum, we've created an interactive presentation on neuropsychological changes in posttraumatic stress disorder patients. It is published in "Neuropsychologischer Ratgeber" (german language). Feel free to take a look! (Tessa Wirtz, Lena Bode & Jan Heistermann)
Thank you!
I'm sincerely grateful for the time you have invested to get to know me and my work. Feel free to reach out!