Mental Health
Program directors: Prof. Hans Koot, PhD and Prof. Brenda Penninx, PhD
Mission
The research program Mental Health (MH) has as central objectives to encourage, initiate, conduct and publish excellent research to increase our understanding of mental health and stimulate evidence-based mental health care and prevention, thereby improving overall public health. When studying mental health, the focus is mainly on the entire developmental trajectory towards the most common mental disorders, especially focusing on depression, anxiety and disruptive disorders.
Specific research themes
- Epidemiology of Mental Health. This theme includes observational research either in the community setting, the general practice setting as well as the psychiatric care setting, that increases our evidence-base for the occurrence, the determinants and consequences of mental health disorders.
- Prevention and treatment in Mental Health. This theme refers to research that contributes to evidence-based information on innovative prevention and treatment interventions to improve mental health and reduce associated disability.
- Developmental perspective in Mental Health. This theme refers to research that examines developmental trajectories of psychopathology across the lifespan, as they often start in childhood and continue into late adulthood.
Professor Brenda Penninx presents and explains her research on depression in a 'fast facts' video (in Dutch).
http://fastfacts.nl/content/brenda-penninx-depressie-en-telomeren
Rationale and focus
Common mental disorders have a major impact on public health and are among the conditions with the world-wide highest disease burden. Consequently, prevention of mental health disorders as well as more effective treatment of mental health disorders is needed to further improve overall (mental) health. By applying observational as well as intervention research, the Mental Health (MH) program contributes to a better evidence-base for the existence, development, prevention and treatment of mental health disorders thereby improving general mental health.
Future perspectives
In the near future, we aim to further build on both our observational as well as intervention research themes. For observational research we will in the future have more longitudinal data available from current research infrastructures that will allow us to examine risk factors of and developmental trajectories in the course of mental health. In addition, in the subsequent years we expect to expand our involvement in international study projects, and to extend our focus on the interaction between somatic and mental health research through newly initiated research projects.