Research
As a (former practicing) healthcare psychologist and as epidemiologist, my research interest focuses on the determinants and prevalence of common mental disorders (such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder) and on the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral interventions in populations affected by stressful and (potentially) traumatic events such as migrants and women in the perinatal period. My work includes epidemiological and experimental designs such as prospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials. I am also interested in understanding underlying cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms and the intergenerational transmission of stress and common mental disorders in these populations.
With my research, I aim to reduce common mental health disorders by unravelling underlying mechanisms of such symptoms and disorders in populations at risk for stress and adversity. Intervening early with scalable mental health interventions may improve mental health of the entire population and may reduce inequalities in access to health care in more vulnerable populations.
Projects I am currently involved in:
MiMoMent: "Migrant Mother Mental health: epidemiology and neurobiological correlates of perinatal mental health among migrant mother-child dyads living in the Netherlands".
EU Horizon project ADVANCE: “Addressing mental health vulnerabilities from adolescence to older age: innovating prevention science for times of change”.
EU4Health project U-RISE: Ukraine’s displaced people in the EU: Reach out, Implement, Scale-up and Evaluate interventions promoting mental wellbeing.
EU Horizon project RESPOND: “Preparedness of health systems to reduce mental health and psychosocial concerns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Amsterdam Law and Behaviour (A-LAB) grant: PROSPER: “Addressing mental health problems and preventing recidivism in the criminal justice system”.
Amsterdam Reproduction & Development (AR&D) grant: “Hair-cortisol and depressive symptomatology in pregnancy” (Amsterdam UMC, Midwifery Science).
For a full list of publications check my ResearchGate profile Anke B Witteveen (researchgate.net)
