‘Affect-us is not only an academic workplace but also a partnership between Bartiméus, Ons Tweede Thuis, Odion and VU Amsterdam, and thus also between practice and science. We want to conduct relevant research and translate this into products such as books, apps, publications, games, network meetings and tools that can be directly applied in practice.
Added value
We achieve this by having researchers, practitioners and experience experts working closely together throughout the project. Experience experts play an important role in our workshop and, as far as possible, are involved in the whole process from start to finish. This allows us to ensure that our research and products actually add value to practice.
Sharing new knowledge
At Affect-us, we work from four lines of research and knowledge development: prevention, signalling and interpretation, promotion and improvement and recovery. Prevention focuses on a secure attachment relationship between child and parents. We achieve this by sharing new knowledge and providing targeted advice, among other things. In signalling and interpretation, for example, we look at the influence of stress on behaviour and develop observation lists for parents and carers.
Therapies and education
In promote and improve, we develop courses, therapies and tools to address problems in social relationships. In recovering disturbed relationships, we mainly focus on developing forms of therapy. Besides our research, we are also involved in education, both at MBO, HBO and WO level. Among others, we collaborate with ROC Amsterdam and Hogeschool Utrecht to involve students in our research and offer them practical experience. This helps them to be better prepared for their future careers in healthcare.
Lots of job satisfaction
Working in an academic workplace has many advantages. It is a great place that allows people to develop broadly, grow and take follow-up steps in their careers. The close collaboration between practice and science ensures not only relevant and applicable research but also a lot of commitment to the subject. And working in a close-knit team simply gives a lot of pleasure. Making products together and studying together how effective they are, provides a lot of satisfaction and added value. We also appreciate the innovation and passion that exists within Affect- us and the fact that scientists listen carefully to experience experts and take their input seriously.
Talents and challenges
Our workshop is also a place where you can develop and implement new ideas yourself, use your own specific talents and even discover and develop new ones. Even if you already have a substantial career behind you. We also face challenges. One of our biggest is the staff shortage, which sometimes makes it difficult to involve enough people in our research. And finding suitable researchers who want to work in both practice and science can be a challenge too. After all, our approach is quite intensive and requires a lot of coordination and consultation.
Recognition and Rewards
There is much appreciation within VU Amsterdam for Affect-us. The establishment of a special chair shows that VU Amsterdam recognises and supports the value of the academic workshop. The collaboration agreements that have been built and the structural collaborations that have resulted in the academic workshop also show that VU Amsterdam takes the workshop seriously and appreciates its efforts.
Prevention and support
In terms of content, in the future we want to focus even more on prevention and on supporting the family and network around clients. So how can you prevent people from getting into trouble and what tools can we develop for that. And how do we ensure that the family and the network around clients are even better prepared and equipped to provide help and support. We still have a lot of great work to do.'
