Our mission is to advance the understanding of mental health of individuals with a history of stress and/or trauma through rigorous interdisciplinary research, integrating insights from clinical psychology, neurobiology, and social sciences. We are committed to translating our findings into innovative…

The aim of this project is to investigate the (cost)effectiveness of two innovative forms of trauma-focused therapy for patients with childhood abuse related PTSD. The ultimate goal is to improve quality of care and contribute to treatment innovation for this severely ill target population.

Childhood sexual abuse is a common problem, with approximately one in five girls and one in 13 boys worldwide experiencing some form of sexual abuse before the age of 18. Despite its high prevalence, many individuals remain silent about these experiences, often delaying disclosure for years, with one…

What do you do if you suspect someone around you is struggling with suicidal thoughts but you aren’t sure how to bring it up? And how can we support loved ones who’ve experienced trauma? In this episode clinical psychologist Joanne Mouthaan shares valuable insights on how to approach these topics and…

Adults who were abused or mistreated as a child and consequently suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can benefit greatly from cognitive behavioural therapy. This is the conclusion of a study of 149 patients. Researcher and PhD candidate Chris Hoeboer is hopeful about the results and the…

There’s a lot that goes wrong in the treatment of patients with PTSD caused by childhood trauma. Endowed professor Maartje Schoorl wants to resolve this by bringing scientific research closer to the practice. Inaugural lecture on Friday 29 April.

Military veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder often have symptoms that are both chronic and complex. Professor by Special Appointment Eric Vermetten is looking for new ways to help them deal with these. One possible medicine: party drug MDMA.

Anne-Laura van Harmelen has received a Vidi grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). This talent programme will enable Van Harmelen to research the social and neurobiological mechanisms of resilience in young people with childhood trauma.

Childhood trauma can have a lifelong effect. Many therapists do not dare to confront these vulnerable patients with their past because they are concerned that the patients will be unable to cope. Research has now shown that exposure therapy can be helpful for this group of people.

Lecture

With research on the intergenerational transmission of trauma, Tamara Compagner (right) has won the FSW Thesis Prize 2023. The thesis was written as part of the Master's in Education and Child Studies and examines the role of parent-child attachment and child personality in high-risk families.

Discover the power of interdisciplinary AI research at Leiden University's SAILS Initiative through this bi-weekly seminar. The SAILS network of AI experts spans all seven faculties: Law, Science, Archaeology, Social Sciences, Humanities, Governance and Global Affairs, and the Leiden University Medical…

From self-driving cars to innovative drug development: artificial intelligence (AI) will fundamentally change our lives in many different ways. We study this technology at a deep and fundamental level. And we seek answers to questions about liability and privacy, for example. Our researchers from…

A python3 package to create and analyze Circular Economy scenarios.

How can sustainable and circular decision-making be integrated into manufacturing operations? How can data from physical simulation models, digital twins and operations be used for sustainability assessment? How can manufacturing decisions affecting sustainability and circularity be integrated into…

To study relationships between emotion regulation after negative and traumatic life events and psychopathology. Within this context, another goal is to develop and validate emotion regulation questionnaires.

Many children experience trauma and if they are unable to deal with it properly, it can have a huge personal and societal effect. Building resilience in vulnerable children and young people should therefore have the highest priority. This is the message of Anne-Laura van Harmelen, Professor of Brain,…

SAILS (Society, Artificial Intelligence and Life Sciences) is a universitywide initiative aimed at facilitating collaboration across disciplines on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is one of Leiden University's interdisciplinary programmes.

A consortium led by Leiden University has been awarded 6.75 million euros to research traumascapes: physical places associated with collective trauma and loss. The research team aims to make these places more visible, accessible and inclusive.

Although exposure therapy is the gold-standard treatment of posttraumatic stress-disorder (PTSD), only half of the patients adequately benefit from it. Based on recent insights into the mechanisms of extinction, this project examines strategies and techniques to improve exposure treatment outcome in…

Engin Kiliç defended his thesis on 11 june 2015

This book explores how ‘crisis’ - as a narrative, concept, grammar, and experience - structures time and space.

Lecture, Research Seminar Medieval and Early Modern History

References to nature and the environment in the Caribbean literary and the contemporary age of globalization.

How do dissociative states affect the ability to suppress emotional distraction (in the context of a working memory task) in patients with Borderline Personality Disorder?

What are the possibilities of converting biowaste streams into value added products? What current and future technologies will enable this transition with minimal environmental and economic costs? The researchers in H2 steel project will enable the transition of sewage sludge into green hydrogen, steel…

How do we define the works of a film director whose films cross many established boundaries at once?

This book presents a thorough analysis of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s memory culture, focusing particularly on commemorations and representations of the Anfal and Halabja atrocities.

This week 'Dutch Post-war Fiction Film through a Lens of Psychoanalysis' by Peter Verstraten was published by Amsterdam University Press, the sequel to Humor and Irony in Dutch Post-war Fiction Film from 2016. Each chapter in his 482-page new study begins with a title of Fons Rademakers who made films…