About us
We are GRIP, a Group of interdisciplinary researchers in the field of social and cognitive Rehabilitation and Innovation in Psychiatry. We are ambitious. First and foremost, we strive to improve the recovery and wellbeing of people with serious mental health problems. We develop and test new interventions, and we test and evaluate the effects of existing interventions that have been proven to work for other groups with similar problems and goals. We study fundamental factors that may have an impact on the recovery process of people with serious mental health problems and how to translate these findings to clinical practice. But we don’t stop there. Once our research supports the clinical utility of an intervention, we study how these interventions can best be implemented in routine clinical practice. We developed a professional training program for those people who are interested in the interventions we study. Finally, our definition of innovation reaches beyond the academic interpretation, we initiate and contribute to social innovation projects and evaluate these projects to learn from them and to be able to share experiences. In all our projects, we aim to work together closely with service users, family members, staff and researcher collaborators, to make sure we ask the right questions, develop tools that people are waiting for, and bridge the gap between science and clinical practice. We are based in the Groningen area in the north of the Netherlands, and are associated with both clinical and educational institutes. We support both clinical and research internships, and highly value the cross-fertilization between students, service users and staff.
The Grip Team:
Senior Researchers
Dr. L. (Lisette) van der Meer studied cognitive neuropsychology at the University of Groningen and McGill University in Montreal Canada. In 2011, she received her PhD in cognitive neuropsychiatry on the topic “the emotional self in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder”. Upon completing her PhD, she started working as a senior researcher at the department of Psychiatric Rehabilition at Lentis Psychiatric Institute, where she set up a research group focusing upon (social) cognitive rehabilitation research in people with a severe mental illness. Since 2019 she works as an assistant professor at the department of clinical and developmental neuropsychology, from which she continues her research. In keeping her employment at Lentis, she aims to sustain the connection between research, education and clinical practice.
Dr. Charlotte Wunderink is a professor of social inclusion of people with severe mental illness at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen. She also manages the clinical long stay and rehabilitation facilities, as well as the supported housing facilities of Lentis Psychiatric Institute. She studied neurolinguistics at the University of Groningen and completed her bachelor of Nursing at the Northern University of Applied Sciences in Leeuwarden. She aquired her PhD at the Medical Department of the University of Groningen, which focused on the developments in supported housing in the Netherlands. Furthermore, she studied deinstitutionalization and rehabilitation in Dutch supported housing. To date, she values the combination of her work as a manager with research and innovation in clinical practice.
Dr. Lianne Sanders obtained her Master’s degree in Clinical Neuropsychology from the University of Groningen. In 2019 she received her PhD on the efficacy of combined exercise for cognitive and physical functions in older persons with dementia. Subsequently she worked as a neuropsychologist in the Department for Geriatric Psychiatry (inpatient and outpatient care) at Lentis Psychiatric Institute. As a senior researcher for the department of Rehabilitation Psychiatric Rehabilition at Lentis, her areas of interest are the optimization of diagnosis and treatment, cognitive functioning and psychotropic drug use. In combining her scientific education with her clinical experience, she aims to bridge the gap between science and mental health practice for patients and their caregivers.
Dr. Ellen Meijer studied sociology at the University of Groningen. She obtained her PhD at VU University, on the topic of ‘Family Group Conferencing in psychiatry’. She combined her Phd project with working as a teacher at the bachelor Social Work (Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen). Currently she still works at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences, as a teacher and researcher at both the bachelor and master ‘Social Work’. She is responsible for coordinating the minor ‘Mental Health Care’ and the graduation profile ‘Mental Health agogic worker’ (uitstroomprofiel GGz-agoog).
Junior Researchers
Tim van Brouwershaven, MSc. obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biomedical Sciences at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. During his Master’s thesis, he discovered his interest in research about psychiatric disorders and testing interventions. He works as a junior researcher at ART Zuidlaren, where he participates in giving cognitive adaptation training. Additionally, he works on the validation of the dutch translation of the Self-Evaluation of Negative Symptoms (SNS) and he coordinates the Buddy project.
PhD Candidates
Michelle van Dam, Msc. studied clinical psychology at the University of Groningen. After graduation in 2016, she started working as a PhD student at department of rehabilitation of Lentis Psychiatric Institute. In her PhD project she studies the effectiveness and implementation of Cognitive Adaptation Training (CAT) in people with severe mental illness in long-term inpatient treatment facilities. In line with her research interest to bridge the gap between science and real-world practices, she also worked as a psychologist in outpatient care during her PhD. Since 2021, besides her research, she works as a psychologist at an inpatient treatment facility for elderly people with SMI.
Anika Poppe, MSc. obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and her Master’s Degree in Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Groningen. After completing her studies, she started working as a (neuro-)psychologist in a neurological rehabilitation center in Germany and discovered her passion for helping people with cognitive impairments. In 2019, Anika joined the GRIP research group as a PhD candidate at Lentis Psychiatric Institute and the Department of Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology at the University of Groningen. In her PhD project, Anika will investigate whether cognitive remediation training combined with non-invasive brain stimulation can improve cognitive and, thereby, daily functioning in people with severe mental illness and in other clinical populations. In her free time, Anika can be found doing yoga and playing the piano.
Elske Kronemeijer, MSc. is a doctoral researcher working on the digital This is Me-project, which aims to promote personal recovery of people with severe mental illness. Topics of interest for this project are self-identity and existential wellbeing. Elske completed a master in clinical and health psychology in Leuven and holds a degree in philosophy. She also brings to this project her experience with clinical work as a psychologist with elderly people with (mild) cognitive impairments and at an ambulatory mental healthcare service. In addition to giving the project a firm scientific ground, she is also interested in applying the creative input of different stakeholders and disciplines. Besides her work she can be found in Groningen (caring for her plants or sipping coffee with her friends) or cycling through Europe.
Nienke Buist, MSc. studied Psychology and obtained her Master’s Degree in Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Groningen. During her Master’s, she developed her preference for doing research in combination with working in clinical practice. Currently, she is working as a PhD candidate at the University of Groningen and Lentis Psychiatric Institute in Zuidlaren. After a successful pilot study (carried out by GRIP researcher Anika Poppe), Nienke will further investigate the effects of cognitive remediation training combined with non-invasive brain stimulation on daily and cognitive functioning in people with severe mental illness.
Dan-Andes Bekkering-Bauer, MSc. is a PhD candidate at the University of Groningen, working on the REAL study. He graduated from the research master’s program in clinical psychology in 2023. Dan has a diverse background, having studied the historical, political, and philosophical context of psychiatry in the humanities, and worked in psychedelic research, guiding and selecting music for ketamine-assisted therapy sessions. Driven by his interest in the sense of self, Dan proposed a research project focusing on the phenomenology (i.e., first-person experience) of psychosis. He investigates how the sense of self and reality changes over time in individuals at risk of developing psychosis. In 2024, he joined the GRIP research team, aiming to bridge the gap between research and lived experience to improve early detection and treatment of psychosis. Dan aspires to work in clinical practice in the future. In his free time, Dan sings in two choirs, and enjoys spending time with his cats.
Cinical Psychologist in Training
Irma Nijkamp is a psychotherapist training to become a clinical psychologist at Lentis Zuidlaren. In her research she is concerned with the Dutch translation of the Cognitive Assessment Interview (CAI). The CAI is a semi structured interview to evaluate the impact of cognitive problems on daily life for people with a severe mental illness. In her research she looks at both the psychometric qualities of the CAI and the clinical value. This is being researched by comparing the outcomes of the CAI with neuropsychological tests, as well as asking psychologists training to become GZ-psychologists what treatment advice they’ll give based on the outcome of the CAI. Also, focus groups will be utilized to evaluate how multiple service users experience the CAI.
Alumni
