Research

 I work at the University of Amsterdam as a research professor in Family Mental Health and Mindfulness. I started the UvA Family Lab where fundamental research into parent-child interactions takes place and founded the academic treatment clinic for parents and children UvA minds, where clinical research on the effectiveness of treatment for children and parents is conducted.

A short video on my research ideas (Dutch):

My main research themes are the intergenerational transmission of psychopathology through family processes, and particularly the role of the father, mindfulness for parents and children, and (cost)effectiveness of mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral interventions to prevent and treat psychopathology. I acquired many grants from NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) and ZonMW (Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development) for Randomised Clinical Trials on prevention and treatment programs for childhood and adult psychopathology, and for implementation of these programs. My fundamental research into the aetiology of anxiety disorders was awarded with the Aspasia, Vidi and Vici personal grants for excellent researchers belonging in the top 5% of their research area by NWO.

I published over 250 papers in international scientific journals, many book chapters, and wrote and edited many books. I’m in the top 0,1% most productive and cited anxiety disorder researchers worldwide, and in the top 25 of most productive and cited mindfulness researchers worldwide.

Credentials and other relevant information