News

How can it be that a person loses control over his actions? And what does it take - physically, psychologically, and socially - to bounce back? Co-director of the Centre for Urban Mental Health Reinout Wiers, wrote a book titled Akrasia, about the neuroscience, philosophy, and psychology of addiction. 

Complexity Science is the language that binds the research of the Centre for Urban Mental Health. But what is it exactly? And how can it help us understand the dynamics of mental health taking shape in an urban environment? Peter Sloot, Professor of Complex Adaptive Systems and board member of the Centre for Urban Mental Health, explains...

An (attempted) suicide of a student has enormous impact on fellow students and school employees and thus posits an important issue. Novel plans to prevent such suicides (and their attempts) have been developed based on research that was funded by the UvA Centre for Urban Mental Health. These action plans offer staff guidance on how to act after an (attempted) suicide to prevent trauma and imitating behavior. To find out more and access these plans read the linked article.

Getting psychological help can be problematic in high-income countries like the Netherlands, where long waiting lists prevent many people from obtaining the help they need. However, in many low- and middle-income countries, access to mental healthcare is even more limited, with a large gap between needs and the care available. Guided technology-based interventions provide promising avenues for closing that gap, argues Professor dr. Claudi Bockting Amsterdam UMC.

Feeling so distraught, worthless or hopeless that you think it would be better to not live anymore. This experience is very hard and frightening, and many young adults experience this to some degree. In many cases, this feeling fades again without any intervention. However...

On Monday 8 January, on the 'Dies Natalis' of the UvA, we hosted our symposium 'Societal Challenges, Global Mental Health + Humane AI' to showcase the work of our nominee, Prof. Vikram Patel, and the nominee of AI, Prof. Chris Manning...