We talk to Justin, who was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder type 1 over 14 years ago. Justin is very candid and talks about his first manic episode at the age of 28, and how he learned to live a stable life. Justin is doing well, and he owes this in particular to his own perseverance. What do you experience…

Autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, is the term for a range of neurodevelopmental conditions or differences which can impact your studies at Leiden University.

For the first time, astronomers have observed in three dimensions that gas from spiral galaxies is blown upwards and downwards at high speed, far out of the galaxy. They thereby confirm the theory of galaxy evolution: that star-forming galaxies create intergalactic gas flows by discharging gas along…

Philip Spinhoven was a registered clinical psychologist and psychotherapist. As a scientist-practitioner he has always tried to combine more fundamental research with clinically applied research. Since his retirement in 2022, he is only active as supervisor of several ongoing PhD projects.

My research has a focus on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and a strong translational character, integrating basic genetic and neuroimaging research with clinical interventions. My work at the Faculty of Social Sciences is closely related to my research position at the RadboudUMC, the Donders Institute…

Have you ever experienced the feeling of awkwardness when attending a party where you didn’t know anybody? Ever felt shy at a party within the first few minutes? While this feeling is labelled loosely as feeling socially anxious, social anxiety disorder goes to a much further extent.

Rachel de Jong works as an Assistant Professor in Clinical Neurodevelopmental Sciences at Leiden University

Dissociation is a common symptom in borderline personality disorder and is associated with an increased risk of suicidality and self-harm. Dialectical behaviour therapist Anne Krause-Utz has written a book for clinicians, researchers and students who want to better understand and recognise the pheno…

‘Raising awareness of the disorder is crucial since borderline personality disorder (BPD) still faces considerable stigma ’, says Anne Krause-Utz (Clinical Psychology) . Together with an international team of excellent scientists, Krause-Utz provides an update of current knowledge about this disorder,…

As a professor, Natasha Appelman-Dijkstra understands better than anyone how important it is to recognise bone and mineral conditions at an early stage. She emphasises the importance of flexibility and collaboration for better care, groundbreaking research and strong education.

Abnormalities in metabolism cause disease in man. Hans Aerts aims to translate the outcome of fundamental biochemical investigations on glycosphingolipids and their metabolizing enzymes to improved diagnosis and rational therapies for inherited lysosomal disorders, neuro-degenerative disease and metabolic…

Many primary school children suffer from anxiety and their numbers are increasing. Psychologists from the Knowledge Center Anxiety & Stress (KAS) are developing and researching preventive training.

Leiden researchers have found clues to why a rare pregnancy disorder is mild in some babies but life-threatening in others. Their discovery opens the door to a test that could identify severe cases during pregnancy. Fortunately, a treatment already exists.

Autism, Alzheimer’s, and bipolar disorder: can the development of these mental health conditions be influenced by the ketogenic diet? Increasingly, research suggests it might. 'For those it helps, it can be life-changing,' says neuroscientist Eline Dekeyster.

Personality is genetic in zebrafish: risk-taking parents have risk-taking children. These are the findings of research by Christian Tudorache and his team published in BMC Neuroscience.

Rianne de Kleine is an Assistant Professor in the Clinical Psychology department and a psychologist in training at LUBEC. As a scientist-practitioner, she combines scientific research, teaching, and clinical care.

Maartje Schoorl is a clinical psychologist who has obtained her PhD at Leiden University in 2013, supported with an Opleiding Onderzoeker GGZ (OOG) grant. Since then, she combined a clinical position with research and teaching at the University of Leiden and in the post-master education. Since 2016,…

Psychologist Bernou Melisse was shocked at the long waiting lists in the Netherlands for people with binge-eating disorders. The problem was not yet on the map in Saudi Arabia. She therefore decided to study how people suffering from binge eating can be helped better in their own region of the world.…

Janna Marie Bas-Hoogendam is an assistant professor at the unit Developmental and Educational Psychology of the Institute of Psychology at Leiden University. She is also affiliated with the department of Psychiatry (Leiden University Medical Center) and part of the Knowledge Center for Anxiety & Stress…

Thomas Willems is a PhD candidate at the Department of Clinical Psychology and his research focuses on the mechanisms and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Specifically, the aim of his PhD-project is to reduce the gap between experimental research that is done in the laboratory, and…

Greta Noordenbos became assistant professor of the Department Clinical Psychology of the Faculty Social Sciences of Leiden University in 2001. She is supervisor of Bachelor and Masterthesis about eating disorders and is coördinator of the Elective ‘Transdiagnostic Approach to Eating Disorders’. Her…

Semiha is currently researching the applicability of schema therapy for the treatment of social anxiety disorders among young adults who are also first-generation college students.