Team

Meet the FitMind team!

Janna N. Vrijsen

Professor of Mental Fitness / Principal Investigator

With my background in behavioral science and working in specialized mental healthcare, I aim to understand how ostensibly small differences between and within individuals can impact upon mental health. My translational research focused on cognitive and physical training for mentally vulnerable individuals. In our FitMind group we implement multiple methods to study causation and mechanisms (experiments, biomarkers), daily life (ecological momentary assessments) and clinical outcomes (longitudinal, randomized controlled trials).

Michèle Schmitter

Postdoc researcher

My research focuses on exercise therapy and how it can be tailored to individual needs, particularly for women experiencing depression. I employ a variety of research methods, including intensive longitudinal assessments, experimental studies, clinical data from routine practice, randomized controlled trials, and qualitative research. Drawing on my experience as both a clinical researcher and former psychologist, I aim to develop more personalized approaches that improve mental health outcomes.

Marieke A. Helmich

Postdoc researcher

My research focuses on the intersection of clinical psychology, dynamical systems theory and experience sampling methodology. I study the dynamic patterns in repeatedly measured experiences (feelings, thoughts, behaviours) of individuals with mental health problems during therapy to see if we can predict treatment outcomes and sudden symptom changes.

Renee Roosen

PhD student

My research focusses on enhancing treatment options for psychological disorders, specifically depression, through physical exercise. I aim to investigate the molecular, physiological, and psychological mechanisms underlying exercise, to provide valuable insights into when, how, and for whom exercise can be an effective adjunct to depression treatment. I have a background in behavioural sciences.

Bob Baxendell

Psychologist in training to Healthcare Psychologist & PhD student

Based at Pro Persona and affiliated with Radboud University and Radboudumc, my research focuses on treatment-resistant and complex depression, with a particular interest in the effectiveness and working mechanisms of schema therapy. This work bridges clinical practice and academic research by investigating schema therapy at behavioural, cognitive, and neurological levels. Alongside this, I am a Psychologist in Training to Healthcare Psychologist (Psycholoog in opleiding tot GZ-psycholoog) at Atlant. Combining research and clinical work, my goal is to advance evidence-based practices and better understand schema therapy’s role in treating difficult-to-treat depression.

Shannon Cardol

PhD student

My research focuses on functional recovery in late-life depression from a nursing perspective. Using a mixed-methods approach, I explore the key factors and themes that influence the functional recovery process. With these insights, I am developing a nurse-led intervention aimed at enhancing functional recovery in older adults with depression. The intervention is developed using the Intervention Mapping framework and will be piloted to evaluate feasibility. My research aims to expand theory- and evidence-based nursing treatment options for functional recovery in late-life depression.

Aniek Schrauwen

PhD student

My research focuses on enhancing mental health interventions by integrating them with neuroplasticity-enhancing techniques, such as physical exercise and transcranial direct current stimulation. I investigate the potential augmenting effects of these approaches on psychological interventions. In addition, I study how contextual factors surrounding physical exercise influence its mental health benefits. To do so, I combine experimental studies with research on everyday experiences using ecological momentary assessment and activity tracking. I have a background in behavioural sciences.

Marvin Dophemont

PhD student

Coming from studying art and psychology thereafter, my focus has slowly been moving to researching clinical psychology within a dynamical systems theory framework. In my current PhD research project, I attempt to understand the fundamental processes of personally relevant concepts used during the evidence-based treatment schema therapy. This is done by applying ecological momentary assessment of personally relevant (and personalized) questions related to the concepts used during schema therapy treatment. The eventual aim of this project is to be able to identify and map out (attractor) states in personalized dynamical systems.

Simon Neugebauer

PhD student

My research focuses on understanding why repetitive negative thinking persists . Using a multimodal approach combining ecological momentary assessment, cognitive tasks, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), I investigate how self-referential processing, metacognitive monitoring, and executive functioning contribute to the maintenance of repetitive thinking in daily life. Ultimately, I aim to test whether psychedelic-assisted interventions can modify these neurocognitive mechanisms, informing more targeted and personalised treatment approaches. Besides my PhD, I work as a grant advisor for a EMG-biofeedback startup.

Annelot van Geffen

PhD student

My research focuses on personal and societal recovery in depression. Instead of focussing on clinical outcomes, such as symptom levels and severity, I study how people with depression can experience meaningful roles in society. As part of this project, we developed the recovery-buddy-program (herstelmaatjes-traject). In this program, an expert-by-experience guides someone with depression in 7 sessions towards a next step in recovery. Alongside the research, I work as a psychologist at ARQ Centrum '45.

Iliana Liakea

PhD student

My research focuses on the development of a digital application designed to target memory biases in postpartum depression. This project integrates Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) methodology with validated questionnaires and experimental behavioral tasks to capture cognitive processes. By combining digital innovation with rigorous psychological assessment, the aim is to better understand and ultimately intervene in mechanisms that maintain maternal mental health difficulties. In addition to this work, I am an active member of two European consortia focused on maternal mental health, collaborating with international researchers to advance evidence-based approaches in this field.

Jon Matthews

Research Nurse

I am the Research Nurse in the Department of Psychiatry at Radboudumc. I support the researchers with their studies carrying out tasks such as recruitment of participants and data collection. This brings me into contact with patients, and I take great pleasure in contributing to developments in healthcare.

Thijs te Brummelstroete

Psychomotor therapist

I work as a psychomotor therapist (PMT) for the Department of Psychiatry at Radboudumc. Based on my expertise, my research focuses on the link between current specialized mental healthcare practice and science, with a focus on body-oriented work and sports therapy for psychiatric disorders, particularly depression. In this way, I can continue practicing my profession while also contributing to the positioning of our field and the connection to science. Research into PMT is crucial to scientifically substantiate and improve the effectiveness of our treatment method.

Jeanique Kuiper

Nurse Practitioner, PhD student

My PhD research at Radboudumc focuses on anxiety and psychological distress related to hospitals and medical follow-up among cancer survivors, including patients with indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (iNHL) and adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors. We are quantitatively and qualitatively evaluating the impact, feasibility, and patient experiences of an e-mental health intervention based on Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM), aimed at reducing attentional and interpretation biases associated with medical settings and cancer-related fear. By combining clinical practice as a nurse practitioner with research, my work aims to contribute to accessible, evidence-based psychosocial care interventions that improve quality of life and emotional well-being across the cancer continuum.

Jaisey Meijer-Coenen

PhD student

My research focuses on the role of interoceptive awareness in self-esteem among adults with anxiety and depressive disorders. Since low self-esteem is a key risk and sustaining factor across multiple psychiatric conditions, it represents a promising transdiagnostic treatment target. I explore the relationship between interoceptive awareness and self-esteem, and how improving bodily awareness can strengthen one's sense of worth and competence. With these insights, I am developing a standardized psychomotor protocol using the Intervention Mapping framework, which will be tested in a pilot randomized controlled trial. My research aims to expand theory- and evidence-based treatment options for self-esteem in anxiety and depressive disorders.

Affliated researchers

Anika Poppe

Postdoc researcher @ University of Zürich

My research focuses on developing innovative treatments to improve mental health care by combining neuroplasticity-enhancing interventions, such as physical exercise and transcranial direct current stimulation, with psychological treatment. Using a multimethod approach—including questionnaires, neuropsychological tests, activity tracking, and momentary assessments—I examine how these interventions affect daily functioning in real life, alongside clinical symptoms.

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