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Alexander Rozental – visiting researchers want to reach out with digital psychological treatment
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Alexander Rozental is an expert on procrastination. He himself usually does not postpone things, but he knows the psychological mechanisms behind the behavior. As a new Associate Visiting Professor at Luleå University of Technology, he will teach, continue to explore online treatment, and hope to implement digital care in practice.
“It is interesting with a technical university that has teaching and research in psychology. There are so many possibilities regarding digital psychological treatment, which is something I want to further develop in my research,” says Alexander Rozental, Associate Professor at Uppsala University, and new Associate Visiting Professor of psychology at Luleå University of Technology.
Research on digital treatment is not new for Alexander Rozental. In a series of studies, he has investigated Internet-based psychological treatment. In addition, his research also concerns when treatment does not help, both online and traditional.
“In common forms of mental illness, about half of the patients are helped by their treatment, for the other half the situation remains unchanged or become worse. Compared to medical treatment, the numbers are not bad, but there is also a lot of potential to help more. I want to find which factors influence when treatment doesn't work, and new ways for the half that wasn't helped,” he says.
Transfer research to practice
At Luleå University of Technology, Alexander Rozental will both conduct research and teach. Already during the autumn, he is scheduled to teach in courses in psychological treatment. He will also take part in the work behind establishing a study programme for University Diploma in psychology.
The research will have a digital and practical focus – what opportunities are there to implement digital solutions within regular healthcare?
“We already know a lot about digital treatment. Implementation is a challenge though; how can the knowledge be transferred to reality. It is relevant not least in an area like Norrbotten with large distances. If certain physical visits can be replaced with digital solutions, we can reach further and help people who would otherwise have lack of access to healthcare. Digital solutions will never completely replace physical meetings but are needed as an alternative. I hope to conduct studies which will benefit the patients,” says Alexander Rozental.
Another advantage of digital treatment is also the possibilities to collect data for further research.
“This could help us to find success factors and create customized treatments.”
Outreach by writing books
Alexander Rozental wants to reach out with his research. Both by implementing it and by writing popular science books. He has studied behaviors that are not diagnoses but can still lead to problems, including perfectionism and procrastination. This has resulted in three books. The latest book "Better than perfect" is a self-help book for perfectionists, and the one before, "Ten to twelve", is based on a study about New Year's resolutions. The reader will find the psychological explanation for how to succeed in making a change.
Before the current role as visiting researcher, Alexander Rozental has visited Luleå University of Technology to lecture on procrastination. In addition to that, he has close contacts with the region privately as his husband is from Norrbotten. He often visits Luleå and Överkalix and enjoys skiing in Riksgränsen. In his spare time, he wants to be as active as possible.
“I find it hard to sit still, I often go running, ski a lot and have found a new interest in cross-country ice-skating. But I also like to read a lot, mostly fiction to relax from my work.”
Patrik Sörqvist: “I want to understand the philosophical questions”

Patrik Sörqvist wants to understand how people think. With a broad knowledge of scientific methods, he tackles questions that sometimes borders philosophical. As Visiting Professor in Psychology at Luleå University of Technology, he will create research environments.
Patrik Sörqvist is back in Luleå. This is where he completed his doctoral thesis in 2010, on why people are more or less distracted by sound when trying to concentrate. Since February 2023, he is a Visiting Professor at Luleå University of Technology in addition to his regular position as Professor of Environmental Psychology at the University of Gävle. He is a cognitive psychologist who aims to understand how people think, how they make decisions. These questions are in his research bridged to environmental issues – how people, for example, assess environmental problems or their environmental impact and how the environment affects them.
Memory and environmental impact
Together with other researchers in Psychology at Luleå University of Technology, he hopes to soon start a project on short-term memory and tackle a number of theories about why we remember or forget over a short period of time. Another project is about how memory interacts with how people perceive their environmental impact.
“In concrete terms, it could be that you go to a mall and buy a number of things in a certain order. Making environmentally friendly choices at a certain time affects your sense of your environmental impact compared to if it was done in a different order. Perhaps more knowledge can help us understand how to get people to behave more environmentally friendly,” says Patrik Sörqvist.
Developing research infrastructure
At Luleå University of Technology, in addition to conducting a number of research projects, he will also develop research infrastructure. He is currently working on creating a lab for data collection and a physical platform to facilitate studies.
“I have a fairly broad knowledge of methods and am happy to help create various experiments. Study design is my thing,” he says.
Fundamental curiosity
Patrik Sörqvist finds environmental issues a major societal challenge, and that research in psychology can contribute to solutions. At the same time, the driving force is a more fundamental curiosity.
“I have always been fascinated by the human mind, and memory is one of the most fascinating things to study. I want to understand the philosophical questions.”
Even when not at work, his interest in psychology affects his interests. In addition to spending time with his family with two children, he enjoys playing chess and has been an active competitive player. Another interest is film and series, often with a psychological theme.
“I am very fond of director Park Chan-wook. Oldboy is one of my favorite movies. It has an incredible psychological depth on the theme revenge. But it has to be the South Korean original, there is an American remake that I cannot recommend,” says Patrik Sörqvist.
Visiting researchers to strenghten the subject
Within the research subject Psychology, several Visiting Researchers have been recruited to strengthen and broaden the subject at Luleå University of Technology.
“Scouting for successful researchers is an important part of my work. It can be compared to a football coach finding prominent key players for positions where the lineup needs to be strengthened,” says Jessica K. Ljungberg, Professor and Head of Subject.
Lina Anyshchenko: “I never expected to become a refugee”

Since the invasion of Ukraine, millions of people have become refugees and Ukrainian academics are scattered around the world. One of them is Lina Anyshchenko, who now has a temporary position at Luleå University of Technology. As a psychologist, she has helped other refugees process their traumas – but like many other refugees, her own future is uncertain.
On the morning of February 24, 2022, Lina Anyshchenko was awakened in her home in Chernihiv by unusual noice she finds difficult to describe. She ran to the bomb shelter with her cat to the sound of Russian planes.
“My city was under constant attack by the Russian troops. Russian planes were flying low and dropping bombs on schools, kindergartens, and hospitals. We had no water, no electricity, no internet, and a lack of food”, says Lina Anyshchenko.
Lina Anyshchenko is a psychologist with long experience of clinical work and teaching at the Chernihiv Institute of postgraduate education. Before the war, she also worked on her doctoral thesis on digital parenting. The dissertation is now postponed indefinitely, and there is no longer a home to return to.
“The district is in ruins. They have mined the forest; they have mined the cemeteries. This is a war against civilians.”
An emotional decision
With not much more than her passport and computer, Lina Anyshchenko crossed the border to the EU on foot. Behind her she left her parents and her cat. She made it to the Netherlands where she has friends. For a few months she worked as a psychologist helping other refugees from Ukraine process their traumas, among them children who lost their parents.
She got in touch with the Scholars at Risk network. Since the invasion, Luleå University of Technology has intensified its work with the organization and set aside means to employ Ukrainian researchers.
After numerous applications to various universities, and several offers, Lina Anyshchenko’s choice fell on Luleå. A city she had never heard of before.
“It was an emotional decision, but I'm happy to be here. Norrbotten reminds me of home. I come from northern Ukraine, from a city which is the centre of its region, like Luleå. I like Sweden and received a very warm welcome from my colleagues here.”
Want to help other refugees
Three months have now passed of Lina Anyshchenko's six-month employment at Luleå University of Technology. She has been worked in various research projects and also on her own study about Ukrainian teachers' experiences of the invasion – "Teacher under the bullets". She continues to help other Ukrainian refugees with psychological support, unpaid in her spare time. Despite solid experience as a psychologist, it is not possible to work in Sweden due to regulations.
“I would be happy to help more in my professional role. Refugees are in need of support without cultural and linguistic barriers. In several other countries it is possible for me to work as a psychologist, but unfortunately not in Sweden.”
She enjoys academia and would like to continue, which is a challenge since the war came between the completion of her doctoral thesis. Jessica K. Ljungberg is Head of subject for Psychology and Lina Anyshchenko's main contact at Luleå University of Technology.
“She is truly a resource and very competent. In addition, she knows exactly what it means to be a refugee and to work with refugees,” says Jessica K. Ljungberg.
”A day of sorrow”
Lina Anyshchenko falls silent when she is asked about the future, it is too uncertain.
“I never expected to become a refugee. Before, my life had a structure, I worked a lot and had a schedule and plan for years ahead. We had the life of our dreams. Everything I own now is in a suitcase. I am free and safe but lack a solid foundation.”
Her former colleagues are scattered around the world as refugees. Some are working at other universities, others are struggling to cope with the loss of family members.
On February 24, 2023, it will be one year since Lina Anyshchenko woke by the sound of Russian troops.
“It is a day of sorrow. A year ago, on this day, the lives of 42 million people changed.”
Lars Nyberg – distinguished visiting professor in psychology
Lars Nyberg, professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, has been appointed visiting professor of Psychology at Luleå University of Technology. His research is largely about aging, memory and dementia.
"It is a previlege to have been appointed, a guest professorship offers great opportunities", he says.
Lars Nyberg is employed at Umeå University and in addition to the two professorships, he has a number of assignments, including being director of the Wallenberg Center for Molecular Medicine at Umeå University (WCMM), director of the Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging (UFBI) and head of the Betula project, which is a long-term study of aging, memory and health. He is also a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In addition, he has been a visiting professor in Bergen, Norway and is still involved in an EU project in Oslo called Lifebrain.
Five years in Toronto
"I attended the psychology program here at Umeå University. Then I got into the postgraduate education and the Betula project, which is a large project, it has been going on for over 25 years. I have had it with me all the way", says Lars Nyberg.
For five years in Toronto, he focused on brain imaging techniques.
"When I came home I built a brain imaging center here, UFBI, it is now celebrating 20 years".
Lars Nyberg continues to work with functional brain imaging linked to brain functions and various memory processes.
Studies blood flow
In his research, he uses a MR scanner, among other things to study how the cerebral cortex changes as we get older.
"We do brain imaging in the MR scanner. We use it to look at the structure of the brain, you can measure the brains length and width and across, inside the path systems and the thickness of the cerebral cortex and see how it changes with aging and disease. We can also let participants perform tasks while in the scanner and study blood flow changes and see which areas of the brain are used".
The purpose is to understand how the brain works and helps us do what we do, but also to better understand why it does not work sometimes.
"In the best case, such knowledge can help people, not only the elderly in terms of memory and dementia, but also in, for example, Parkinson's disease and head injuries. These are just a few examples".
Development of research
Lars Nyberg will be visiting professor at Luleå University of Technology för two years.
"Among other things, I will work with supervision, postgraduate education and work closely with researchers on applications for research funding", he says.
He also hopes to be able to work with different types of development in education and research.
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