Projects
The existential layer of depression disorder: Quantitative and qualitative investigation in student, clinical, and therapist samples KU Leuven
The existential layer of depression disorder: quantitative and qualitative investigation in student, clinical an therapist samples
Summary - English version
My experiences as a psychotherapist brought me to the question if there would be a scientific base for the idea that being receptive to existential questions as a therapist, is helpful to the client. I was also curious to learn more about the effect of neglecting these topics ...
Are depressive symptoms related to differences in categorization? KU Leuven
As depressive symptoms are widespread in current society, continued research focusing on the involved emotional, interpersonal, and cognitive characteristics, is vital to improve both preventive and curative interventions. This dissertation focuses on possible cognitive characteristics of depressive symptoms. More specifically, we investigated whether depressive symptoms could be associated with distortions in the organization and ...
Differential efficay of supportive and interpretative psychodynamic techniques for dependent and self-critical depressive patients: an experimental single case design Ghent University
The current study investigates for the first time in an experimental design whether psychodynamic techniques for Major Depressive Disorder are differentially efficacious dependent on personality traits of the patient. More specifically if supportive, respectively interpretative techniques are significantly more efficacious in reducing depressive symptoms for dependent, respectively self-critical patiens. This through increased relational ...
Strategies project: Genetic and epigenetic aspects. Depressive symptoms in adolescence: genes & environment KU Leuven
In medicine, and in particular in psychiatry, the interaction of an individual's predisposition, e.g., genetic make-up, and the environment the individual is exposed to - often "stress"- remain key factors in etiology of disease and a lack of wellbeing. Different methods have been suggested to investigate susceptibility for a particular disorder, but investigating this interplay has often been limited to single polymorphisms (e.g., 5-HTTLPR). ...
The nature and determinants of emotional recovery in normal and depressive populations. KU Leuven
Smart algorithms for wearables to reduce relapse into stress related disorders KU Leuven
To date, depression is the worldwide leading cause for disability and a considerable contributor to the global disease burden. In recent years, another disorder that shares certain traits with depression has been on the rise, namely burnout. Although the prevalence and disease burden of burnout is not nearly as great as that of depression, it has been escalating in the last decade. As a result, burnout has been receiving a lot of attention in ...
Phenotyping socio−emotional profiles in presymptomatic and symptomatic neurodegenerative disorders. KU Leuven
The project uses a translational and multidisciplinary approach to investigate socio−emotional functions in neurodegeneration. We will first valorize research findings on socio−emotional deficits for use in clinical practice. The output objective is an automated test battery and classification program. The second aim is to phenotype emotion perception abilities in presymptomatic (genetic variants) and symptomatic neurodegeneration. The ...
MOODSTRATIFICATION: Immune Signatures for Therapy Stratification in Major Mood Disorders. KU Leuven
MOODSTRATIFICATION brings together 11 partners (psychiatrists, immunologists, epidemiologists, industry) from 7 countries stratifying patients with a major depressive episode on the basis of leukocyte immune profiles. The immune profiles were found in two previous EU projects, which also delivered the novel concept, that T cell defects with episodes of chronic mild inflammation are a causal factor for a large part of mood disorders. The ...
RADAR-CN: remote assessment of disease and relapse in central nervous system disorders. KU Leuven
Remote Assessment of Disease and Relapse in Central Nervous System Disorders (RADAR-CNS) is a major international research project. It aims to develop new ways of measuring major depressive disorder, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis (MS) using wearable devices and smartphone technology. RADAR-CNS aims to improve people’s quality of life and change how depression, epilepsy and MS are managed and treated. Data from mobile devices can give a full ...