Paruresis Workshop Vienna | 6-8 November 2026 | German

This weekend brings people with paruresis together in a confidential, structured setting. You'll get clear background knowledge, practical methods and the chance to practice in realistic situations at your own pace. The workshop is held in German.

Start prepared and keep at it afterward

Many participants experience situations during the weekend that were difficult or impossible before. Just as important: afterward, you know how to keep training on your own.

Prep call

After booking, we'll have a relaxed video call to get to know each other. We'll answer your questions and see how you can go into the weekend well prepared.

The intensive weekend

Friday evening to Sunday afternoon. Ten participants max.

Two follow-up group calls

After the workshop, we meet twice more as a group. Because the real change happens after the weekend, not just during it. You leave with a concrete training plan and, if you like, stay in touch with the other participants.

What to expect

• The basics of paruresis and the mechanisms behind it

• Exchange with people in the same situation

• Your personal training hierarchy: which situations, in which order

• Practical training with a buddy, at your pace, in different situations

• Reflection and a concrete training plan for daily life

• Experienced people who've lived it too

How the buddy training works

Practical training is a central part of the weekend. You work with other participants as buddies and practice step by step in different restroom situations.

You start where it's doable for you. Together you change individual factors such as distance, position, privacy or surroundings and increase the difficulty step by step. It's not about every attempt having to work. 

Key points:

• You decide which situation to try next

• You won't simply be sent into a difficult restroom situation

• It's not a failure if a training attempt doesn't work

• If a situation is still too difficult, you adjust it

• You don't have to share anything personal with the group that you don't want to

No one has to prove how far they've come. What matters is that you find a next step you can actually train.

The workshop is right for you if

• you want to not only understand paruresis but train in practice

• you'd like to meet other people who know exactly the same problem

• you want to learn how to structure training well and continue it on your own afterward

• you're just starting out or already have your own training experience

No prior experience needed.

If the step feels strange

For many, signing up is a big step. Some have never talked to another person face to face about their paruresis, or met others who have it.

That's why the workshop deliberately starts quietly on Friday evening. There's no practical training yet. You first get to know the group, get an overview of the weekend and have time to settle in.

The experience is often surprisingly unspectacular: suddenly you're sitting in a room with people you don't have to explain to why a perfectly normal restroom situation can be difficult.

Discretion is a given here

Many participants tell other people about their paruresis for the very first time at the workshop. That's why discretion is a basic requirement for us.

In practice:

• Your contact details won't be shared with other participants without your consent

• All participants commit to confidentiality, also after the workshop

• Photo, video and audio recordings are not allowed

• You decide what you share about yourself

• Personal conversations and exercises are not documented

• Your worksheets stay with you

• Breaking confidentiality means exclusion from the workshop

The fact that you're attending the workshop is, of course, kept confidential. This information is also subject to the special protection rules of the GDPR.

Who's there

Bernd leads the workshops personally. He knows paruresis from his own experience and has worked intensively with paruresis, self-help and practical training for many years.

Depending on the date, experienced people with paruresis from the Austrian Paruresis Association and psychologists from the Phobius team support him.

This way, personal experience, years of paruresis self-help and clinical psychological expertise come together in one workshop. Even when professionals are involved, there is no diagnosis and no treatment.

Time, place

At the Phobius premises in Vienna, Amerlingstraße 19, 1060 Wien. Quiet, private rooms where you won't be disturbed. Everything discussed there is confidential.

• Friday: doors 6:45 pm, start 7 pm, end around 10 pm

• Saturday: 9 am-5:30 pm

• Sunday: 9 am-2:30 pm

For discretion, you'll receive the exact door number and all details on getting there and access by email only after booking.

Price includes

• Pre-workshop video call to meet and answer your questions

• Participation in the entire weekend

• Two follow-up group calls

• All workshop and training materials

• Coffee, tea, water and salty snacks
  

Meals, travel and accommodation are not included. Everyone arranges their own meals.

How booking works

1. Book your ticket here on this page and find accommodation with free cancellation, no more than a 15-minute walk away. You'll find three recommendations below.

2. After booking, I'll invite you to the pre-workshop video call.

3. No later than 21 days before the start, it's confirmed whether the workshop will take place. If the minimum number of participants isn't reached, you'll get a full refund and be invited to the next date.

Lodging

Book yourself and check two things:

1. Max. 15-minute walk to the venue, the closer the better

2. Free cancellation
   

Staying very close by is important for the weekend. During the practical training phases, practice doesn't only happen in the workshop rooms. Depending on your individual training plan, bathroom situations in your own accommodation can also be part of the training. Especially for first or quieter training steps, your room can be an important starting point. At the same time, it gives you a private place to retreat to at any time. That's why we strongly recommend staying near the workshop location. The closer, the better.

Why free cancellation matters: If the minimum number of participants isn't reached, the workshop has to be canceled. Accommodation and travel costs cannot be refunded in that case.

Three recommendations within walking distance that past workshop participants have spoken well of:

• Hotel NH Collection Wien Zentrum, about 3 min walk

• NH Wien City, about 5 min walk

• Flemings Hotel Wien-Stadthalle, about 15 min walk

Cancellation and withdrawal

Taking part is a big step for many. At the same time, planning, the venue and group size create fixed costs. So the following applies:

• Free cancellation up to 21 days before the start

• If you cancel 20 to 8 days before the start, we refund 50 percent

• From 7 days before the start or in case of no-show, no refund is possible
  

What counts is when your cancellation reaches us by email atinfo@paruresistraining.com, counted from the first workshop day. An informal message is enough. If you get sick at short notice or can't attend for an unforeseeable reason, let us know. We'll try to transfer the amount once to a future workshop, valid for 12 months and subject to availability. If we have to cancel the workshop, you'll get a full refund. If it can't take place as planned for another important reason, for example because a workshop leader or the venue is unavailable, we'll offer you a replacement date soon after. You can then choose: attend on the replacement date or get a full refund.

Important note

The workshop is based on the self-help concept. It is not psychotherapy, medical treatment, or life and social counseling. No diagnoses are made and no promises of a cure are given.

Exercises are voluntary and adapted to your personal limits. No one is pushed into anything. Long-term change comes from continuing to practice after the weekend.

Paruresis can have physical, psychological or situational causes. We recommend having a doctor check beforehand to rule out medical reasons. If health reasons could speak against certain exercises or increased fluid intake, please clarify this beforehand. If you're in an acute mental health crisis, the workshop is not the right offering.

Legal

Terms of Participation and liability notice:www.paruresistraining.com/agb

Privacy Policy:www.paruresistraining.com/datenschutz

Organizer: Mentrevo e.U., FN 687493 w, Handelsgericht Wien, Börsegasse 10/3, 1010 Wien,info@paruresistraining.com

Total price per person. No VAT is shown under the small business rule pursuant to § 6 Abs 1 Z 27 UStG.

For leisure events on a fixed date, there is no statutory 14-day right of withdrawal under § 18 Abs. 1 Z 10 FAGG. The voluntary cancellation terms above apply instead.