WELCOME
My name is Anja Pelzer-Brennholt, and I’m delighted that you’re visiting my website.
I have training in a wide variety of professions, all of which have one thing in common: I am interested in people and in supporting them. I consider it my calling to recognize potential, to inspire others, to help people overcome their fear of change, and to be there for them when the stress they face exceeds their ability to cope.
I work as a university lecturer, systemic coach, certified positive psychology counselor, and alternative practitioner of psychotherapy. I am a trainer for SEE Learning, the Community Resiliency Model (CRM®), and Compassionate Integrity Training (CIT), as well as a mediator and licensed attorney.
In addition to my state bar exams (1995, 1998) and a master’s degree in Humanitarian Assistance (1996), I earned a Master of Science in Positive Psychology in the U.S. (2018). For many years, I worked in research management at a large non-university scientific organization. I have also gained experience in the fields of human rights and development policy abroad (United Nations; Zimbabwe; India; U.S.).
I love spending time with family and friends, traveling, getting to know other cultures, recognizing how much we have in common, and advocating for greater compassion in society. And I have a passion for continued learning.
In addition to my state exams in law (1995, 1998) and a Master’s degree in Humanitarian Assistance (1996), I earned a Master of Science in Positive Psychology in the U.S. (2018). For many years, I worked in research management at a large non-university scientific organization. I have also gained experience in the fields of human rights and development policy abroad (United Nations; Zimbabwe; India; USA).
While psychology has long fascinated me, it was actually my initial training and my interest in international Human Rights that led me to Positive Psychology. In 2015, while working as a docent at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, USA, I met two researchers at a meeting who invited me to join them implement a multi-part, research-based program for personal, social, and systemic growth. It was through them that I was introduced to Positive Psychology. Before moving back to Germany, I completed a MSc in Positive Psychology in the U.S.A and was overjoyed to learn that, thanks to the ↗DGPP, there is also a wonderful connection point in Germany. After about 20 years in research management, I decided in 2019 to work free-lance in order to share the valuable concepts of Positive Psychology with the world as a lecturer, consultant, systemic Coach, and now also through psychotherapy.
Positive psychology explores so many profoundly enriching concepts. I’m inspired by its holistic approach, because PP is so much more than just the study of happiness. We live in a complex, interdependent world facing various global challenges and crises. We cannot avoid these crises; we must weather them. This is where positive psychology has much to offer. Resilience, psychological flexibility, and hope are areas of research that fascinate me, as does the related research on values and a sense of purpose. Last but not least, I spend a lot of time exploring the wonderful concept of compassion for oneself and others: compassion strengthens us, creates connections, and opens our eyes to a better future for ourselves and our planet. It allows us to shift our perspective, see more clearly, and build bridges in our polarized world. I’m interested in the systemic impact of compassion and the collective well-being it fosters.
We have more opportunities than we realize to bring about change—for ourselves, on an interpersonal level, but also on a broader scale within the systems in which we live. That is what positive psychology means to me.
ACADEMIC EDUCATION AND DEGREES
MASTER of SCIENCE IN POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY — LIFE University, GA, USA — 06/2018
ZULASSUNG ALS RECHTSANWÄLTIN — 11/2000
SECOND STATE EXAM IN LAW — 04/1999
MASTER IN HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE — Ruhr-Universität Bochum — 07/1996
FIRST STATE EXAM IN LAW — University of Hamburg — 08/1995
LAW STUDIES; INTERNATIONAL LAW — University of Hamburg — 04/1992
Law and Languages for Specific Purposes: French and English Law. — 10/1989
University of Passau
ADDITIONAL EDUCATION
COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY in training — since 03/2026 until 03/2027 Heilpraktiker Akademie, HPA
PRACTITIONER OF PSYCHOTHERAPY, Licensed by Gesundheitsamt Lichtenberg, Berlin — 05/2026
MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID - Course — 06/2025
CERT. TRAINER, COMMUNITY RESILIENCY MODELS CRM® — 04/2023
Trauma Resource Institute, CA, USA
CERTIFIED TRAINER SEE-LEARNING — 01/2023
Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
CERTIFIED CONSULTANT POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY — 11/2022
German-speaking umbrella organization for Positive Psychology, Germany, Austria, Switzerland
SYSTEMIC COACH FOR POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY — 08/2022
German Association for PositivePpsychology, Berlin
FACILITATOR COMPASSIONATE INTEGRITY TRAINING — 03/2019
ausgebildet am Center for Compassion Integrity and Secular Ethics, Life University, GA, USA
CERTIFIED MEDIATOR — 06/2004
Institut für StreitKultur ISK Prisma, Berlin, Germany
Memberships
I am a member of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA), the German-Speaking Umbrella Association for Positive Psychology e.V. (DACH PP), the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS), and the German-Speaking Society for Contextual Behavioral Sciences (DGKV). I was also inducted into the “International Honor Society in Psychology” (PSICHI) based on my academic achievements in the MSc program in Positive Psychology in the United States.
Cooperation
↗ der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Positive Psychologie (DGPP)
↗ der Deutschen Hochschule für Gesundheit und Sport (DHGS)
↗ der Bucerius Law School
↗ Berlin Leadership Academy - Berlin University Alliance
↗ Kopfsachen für Mentale Gesundheit an Schulen
↗ Wellbeing Systems Science