Psychologist for PhD candidates

If you’re working on a PhD track and are experiencing psychological issues, you can contact one of the psychologists for PhD candidates for help with problems that have arisen during the PhD process or are directly affecting this.

The PhD psychologists are available to help all Leiden University PhD candidates, whether employed by the university or contract (‘scholarship’) or external PhD candidates.

Appointments with the PhD psychologists are free of charge and strictly confidential. They have a duty of confidentiality and will never share information with a third party, such as a family physician, manager, supervisor or co-supervisor, without the PhD candidate’s permission.

What problems can the PhD psychologists address?

You can seek help from the PhD psychologists for problems caused by the PhD process and other related personal problems. For example:

Excessive workload or pressure, work-life imbalance
Stress symptoms (physical and mental), exhaustion and burn-out
Concentration problems, motivation difficulties and procrastination
Mood and anxiety issues, including fear of failure and panic attacks
Perfectionism, imposter syndrome
Insecurity (about the future)
Difficulty with being assertive
Low or negative self-image
Social isolation, loneliness
Adjustment problems, culture shock
Problems with supervision or other aspects of the work environment
Neurodiversity (ADHD, autism, giftedness)

Not intended for specialised or long-term help

The PhD psychologists do not make diagnoses or provide treatment for serious psychological or psychiatric problems. If you need specialised or long-term help, you should contact your family physician for a referral.

What can you expect after the intake interview?

Depending on your needs, several options are available after the intake interview:

Single-session advice and information
Individual guidance sessions with a PhD psychologist (maximum 4 sessions)
Participation in a group, workshop or training course
Participation in the e-health programme Gezondeboel
Career coaching via HR
Referral to another help provider

Referral

In the following situations, the PhD psychologist may decide to refer you to another help provider:

Long-term or specialised help is needed.
Your issues are urgent or severe, such as having suicidal thoughts.
You have multiple problems (e.g. in different areas of your life).
The issues have been present for a long time.
There is a problem in terms of working with others in your work environment, and mediation would be helpful.

If you are referred to more specialised help within the GGZ (Association of Mental Health and Addiction Care), you will need a referral letter from your family physician. If you yourself already feel that you need more help, you are naturally welcome to contact your family physician directly.

Intake interview

You can make an appointment for an intake interview by email. The purpose of the interview is to look together at what help would be appropriate for you. The interview will last an hour and can take place online via Teams or in person at the Plexus Student Centre in Leiden.

Make an appointment

Workshops and training courses

The PhD psychologists give various workshops and training courses on mental health, which you are welcome to take part in:

PhD peer support groups

In addition to the PhD psychologist, you can also turn to support groups for PhD students with ADHD or giftedness. The groups are open to all PhD students at Leiden University, regardless of their appointment.

By joining these peer support groups, you can meet other PhD candidates with ADHD or giftedness in an informal setting. At these meetings you can discuss (PhD related) questions, difficulties, experiences, doubts, how to handle some challenges specific to the PhD journey and support and strengthen each other.

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