Thorsten Wege, Dipl.-Soz.Arb.

• Qualified social worker (FH)
• Systemic therapist and counselor (SG)

• Diakonisches Werk Darmstadt - Department of Family Counseling/General Life Counseling
• Mobile youth counseling Bergstraße
• German Child Protection Association Darmstadt - Counseling center for parents, children, adolescents and families
• Darmstadt Protestant University of Applied Sciences - Faculty of Social Work

• Counseling for adults, children, adolescents, families and caregivers for: personal life stresses and crises, social/existential emergencies, couple and family problems, pregnancy, separation and divorce, parenting issues, experiences of violence, sexualized violence, violence in families and in close social relationships
• Crisis hotline and crisis intervention
• Accompanied contact - work in highly escalated conflict systems
• Outpatient support for adolescents and young adults in assisted individual living - setting up a facility and developing/implementing systemic cooperation approaches
• Parenting courses "Strong parents - strong children"
• Children's groups for separation and divorce
• Lectures, training courses, press and public relations work, in particular on child protection issues, parenting issues and (family) violence
• Specialist advice/supervision for institutions in the child and youth welfare sector

Lecturer at the Protestant University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt since 1996 for:

• Social work science
• Reflection on practice
• Solution-oriented counseling

• Systemic therapy and counseling (IGST Heidelberg)
• NLP - Practitioner training (DVNLP)
• Work with children and parent groups in separation and divorce (bke)
• Course leader certification "Strong parents - strong children" (DKSB)
• Therapeutic work with children (bke)
• When parents wage war against each other - professional action in highly escalated parental conflicts (Praxis-Institut Hanau)
• Hypnosis and hypnotherapy (Palacios Relations GmbH)

Assuming that social work has long been indispensable, is (un!)secretly aware of its diverse resources and, moreover, is successful in the way it is practiced every day - wouldn't that be downright Oscar-worthy?

A medal has at least 3 sides...

• Solution-oriented counseling
• Systemic therapy and counseling
• Conversation management
• Crisis and conflict counseling
• Fundamentals of professional action
• Systemic social work
• Child, youth and family support

Current range of courses(Opens in a new tab) 

The examination and study achievements result from the requirements of the respective module. Further information will be provided in the courses.

All assignments and coursework must be submitted in printed form.

It is not necessary or desired to send them as a file by e-mail at the same time or as a substitute.

Here you will find statements on topics and concerns of students from everyday teaching.
For reasons of transparency and in order to save time in seminars and office hours, the answers are formulated in the sense of "basics" and are therefore deliberately somewhat more detailed.

What do I have to do if I want to take an exam?
What do you expect from presentations and seminar papers?
What does a "good" presentation look like, what should I pay attention to?
What are the basic requirements for a seminar paper?
What formal criteria must a seminar paper fulfill?
How are examinations assessed and graded?
What about attendance in the seminars?

What do I have to do if I want to take an examination?
You should find out about the formal modalities and registration procedures independently and in good time. The Office for Student Affairs can also help you with specific questions. You will of course be informed by me in the courses about which examinations are possible/planned in which form in the respective course.

I will announce dates for examinations in good time. These take place in the scheduled examination weeks.
I consider deadlines and agreed dates to be highly binding. Unless expressly agreed otherwise, the deadlines set out in the study regulations or by the examination board apply to my courses, and the deadlines and arrangements agreed between us apply to oral assignments or reports.

Furthermore, I would like to invite and encourage you to contact me if you have any questions regarding content and to make use of the contact options. I consider counseling and supporting students to be an important part of my job.
I recommend that you arrange a preliminary meeting with me during the planning and preparation period for written or oral assessments.

What do you expect from presentations and seminar papers?
Your presentation or seminar paper should demonstrate that you can independently work on a topic in an exemplary, careful and reflective manner, find a professional position on it and present it appropriately - orally or in writing.

Your work also demonstrates that you are capable of structuring and presenting such a project and completing it within a given formal and organizational framework. This also includes professional (key) skills such as scientific work, didactic considerations, working within a time frame, cooperation, self-management, etc., which you learn and expand during your studies and also prove and demonstrate in this context.

What does a "good" presentation look like, what should I bear in mind?
A topic is presented in a condensed, structured and clear manner - that is the task.
Please think about your audience and put yourself in the shoes of interested fellow students - this is already a part of the performance that is relevant for the assessment, among other things. You will receive a written assignment from me on the topic to be dealt with and the relevant literature references. You confirm with your signature that you will give the presentation on an agreed date.
With your contribution, you will shape a part of the course didactically and are an "expert" for this area and our contact person for "your topic". There are no limits to your creativity and the use of media/aids in terms of what you want to convey to the seminar participants and make them experience. And by the way: you and we can also have fun ...

The time frame is 30 - max. 40 minutes. If the presentation includes exercises and group tasks, the time frame can be extended by arrangement.

If you use technology, please be prepared so that your technology works without long handling and loss of time.

As a "service" for the addressees, please prepare a handout, a copy of which will be available to the participants and myself. The handout contains the outline and - summarized in theses - the central content and "messages" of your presentation.

If you have any questions about the structure, content and didactic design, please do not hesitate to contact me (in good time!).

What is basically part of a seminar paper?
First and foremost (and quite important for your own motivation):
an idea - and with it curiosity and interest in a specific subject-related question.
a clearly formulated and outlined topic (if in doubt, it is better to keep it small, "fine" and precise instead of a large "exhaustive" all-around proposal).
more than one book/one article/one internet source
more than a summary of other people's thoughts in your own words with a concluding "personal opinion".
a comprehensible and well-founded reference to social work.
the competence or the attempt to perceive and describe different points of view and positions and to change perspectives.
summarize findings, justify them and draw conclusions.
learning to live with questions and aspects that may remain open.

What formal criteria must a seminar paper fulfill?
In my opinion, this aspect is often neglected or underestimated in its importance (also for the assessment). This is often a real pity in the case of papers with successful content - in the case of less convincing content, the formal aspect could be a positive counterbalance. So it's worth it - either way.
You can find tips and working aids on the formal design of seminar papers and theses on the homepage of our faculty. In addition, I trust and expect you to carry out your own research in order to compensate for any knowledge deficits on this topic. And last but not least: You should know and use functions on your PC such as "spell check" and "hyphenation".

How are exams assessed and graded?
The criteria are based on the requirements described above. In summary, this means that a piece of work is assessed according to content and formal criteria and the proportion of recognizable independent work. In the case of oral performances, didactic elements (e.g. objectives, transparency, structuring, considered use of media, appropriate involvement of the addressees, handout) are also included in the assessment. The following grades are used to assess examination performance in accordance with the examination regulations.

1 = Very good: an outstanding performance

2 = Good: a performance that is significantly above the average requirements

3 = Satisfactory: a performance that meets average requirements

4 = Sufficient: a performance that still meets the requirements despite its shortcomings

5 = Unsatisfactory: a performance that no longer meets the requirements due to significant deficiencies

I understand this evaluation and grading scale as binding and use it in its meaning and range. A 2.7, for example, still corresponds to work that exceeds the average requirements.

As a representative of systemic perspectives, I ultimately believe that "objectivity" in the absolute sense cannot be achieved, but this does not mean that standards, transparency, feedback and justifications are no longer necessary. I therefore use feedback and exchange as an instrument following performance assessments. This provides opportunities for your personal and professional learning processes, e.g. in the sense of confirmation (here we go), change (here we go) and reflection (what else) - regardless of the grade achieved.

What about attendance in the seminars?
This topic is rightly the subject of controversial debate. On the one hand, a degree course is self-organized learning, adult education in the best sense and therefore a process with freedoms, risks and choices that students can and should control on their own responsibility. On the other hand, the mission of a university of applied sciences is defined by preparing students for a demanding practice in appropriately organized learning contexts.

I therefore recommend that students consider the following aspects:

The workload system in the Bachelor's study program explicitly requires periods of attendance.
Social work methods (i.e. my teaching area) are not primarily learned through self-study or from specialist literature, but through experience-oriented learning in social contexts, through continuous trial and error, practicing and reflecting on what you have experienced and your personal/professional learning experiences. Experience shows that you will also develop confidence and practical skills - the more you are present in the seminar, the better.