My research evolves around the prevention and treatment of mental disorders following trauma and adversities in a global context. I have performed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the field of prevention and treatment of posttraumatic stress diorder (PTSD) and other common mental disorders resulting from the experience of extremely negative events, both in the Netherlands as well as in low- and middle income countries.
I am also interested in the aetiology of mental health problems following trauma and adversities, and psychological and biological mechanims involved in the effects of psychological interventions.
With my research I aim to contribute to the development of effective psychological interventions for both common mental disorders as well as more severe mental disorders, that are scalable and appropriate across settings and populations worldwide. My overall aim is to improve availability and access to high-quality psychological and psychosocial interventions for those individuals who are most in need of them, wherever in the world they may be.
Overview of current projects:
- STRENGTHS: www.strengths-project.eu
- Psychoeducation to prevent diagnosis delay in breast cancer in Indonesia (Funder: Royal Cancer Foundation)
- Psychological First Aid in Sierra Leone: http://www.wartrauma.nl/r2hc-elrha/?lang=nl
- Simagery https://simagery.nl/
- SCALES-S
- RE-DEFINE: http://sites.mss.univr.it/re-defineproject/
