Claes Tovetjärn

I am a lecturer in psychology at the Academy for Police Work. In my role, I teach and supervise both students and police officers, with particular responsibility for professional supervision and the communicative field of knowledge.

My expertise lies in operational psychology – an applied field where psychological knowledge is used to support individuals, groups, and organizations in investigative and operational contexts, both in everyday situations and in extreme events such as high-risk operations and potentially traumatic or ethically demanding tasks. The field integrates biology, psychology, sociology, and philosophy, and includes areas such as recruitment and selection, training and exercises, mental preparation and skills training, crisis and disaster management, intelligence and reconnaissance work, search and rescue operations, interviewing and negotiation, use of force, stress and decision-making, and leadership and command. It also encompasses the interplay of technology, tactics, and strategy in operational environments, as well as recovery, reflection and learning, and psychological support and treatment. The starting point is the human being – a relational and reflective social animal, aware of its own mortality – and our behaviors, thoughts, emotions, and actions in context.

I am a licensed psychologist with a background as a professional officer, with broad and in-depth experience in field medicine, survival, and conflict management. I am part of the research group for police studies at the university and have international experience from assignments in fire and rescue services, ambulance and emergency care, and police operations. My research interests include stress, asymmetric threats, religious fundamentalism, and political extremism.

My main interest concerns human functioning in extreme situations, and how existential questions and challenges are addressed in professions where encounters with crisis, suffering, and death are part of everyday work.