项目介绍

2025年3月15日

For the research project ‘Optimizing exposure-based treatment for anxiety disorders by including social support figures ’, we are looking for a talented PhD Candidate with a strong interest in, and preferably experience with (fear) conditioning research and anxiety disorders.

Exposure treatment is successful to tackle anxiety, but not all patients benefit optimally. Reasons for this are treatment refusal and drop out, as well as a return of fear after successful treatment. This project aims to investigate the effects of including a social support figure during exposure.

Background
People with anxiety disorders show excessive avoidance of anxiety-provoking situations, which contributes to the maintenance and aggravation of their anxiety. Exposure-based treatments targeting this avoidance behavior are successful, but treatment refusal and drop out, as well as a return of fear after successful treatment are common problems. In this project, we aim to investigate the effect of including a social support figure during exposure. Notably, within learning theory, social support figures are typically categorized as “safety signals”, which are thought to increase the risk of return of fear after exposure. However, there is (limited) experimental evidence that social support figures are a “unique” safety signal and that their presence can have positive effects on long-term exposure outcomes and acceptability.

Research method
This project will investigate the effects of various types of social support in highly-controlled (fear) conditioning procedures in healthy participants and the translation to (pre-) clinical studies in high-anxious individuals. Behavioral measures and psychophysiological measurements of conditioned fear (e.g., heart rate (variability) and skin conductance) will be included. 

Your job
You will further develop the designs of the studies that are described in the project. You will also be responsible for programming the experimental protocols, recruitment, and data collection in healthy participants and individuals with (sub-)clinical fears. Next, you will analyze the data, publish your results in scientific journals, present the results (on international conferences) to the research community, and write a doctoral dissertation based on the conducted research. 

Selection criteria
We are looking for an enthusiastic and talented candidate with 

• A (research) master’s degree in a relevant field, including psychology, health sciences, biomedical sciences, or neuroscience;
• Keen interest in understanding exposure therapy for anxiety disorders and (psychophysiological and behavioral) measurement of fear responding;
• Strong affinity with learning psychology (fear conditioning research) and (pre-)clinical research is desirable;
• Programming skills e.g. Python, R, or strong interest and willingness to acquire programming skills;
• Substantial knowledge of statistical methods, well-developed analytical skills and creativity;
• Ambition as high-potential researcher aimed at excellent scientific research;
• Excellent proficiency and communication skills in English language, both verbally as well as in writing;
• Social and organizational competencies. 

What we offer
As PhD Candidate in clinical experimental psychopathology at Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, you will be employed by the most international university in the Netherlands, located in the beautiful city of Maastricht. In addition, we offer you:

• Good employment conditions. The position is graded in scale P according to UFO profile PhD, with corresponding salary based on experience ranging from €2901,00 and €3707,00 gross per month (based on a full-time employment of 38 hours per week). In addition to the monthly salary, an 8.0% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus apply.
• An employment contract for a period of 12 months with a scope of 1,0 FTE. Upon a positive evaluation, an extension of 3 years will follow. 
• At Maastricht University, the well-being of our employees is of utmost importance, we offer flexible working hours and the possibility to work partly from home if the nature of your position allows it. You will receive a monthly commuting and internet allowance for this. If you work full-time, you will be entitled to 29 vacation days and 4 additional public holidays per year, namely carnival Monday, carnival Tuesday, Good Friday, and Liberation Day. If you choose to accumulate compensation hours, an additional 12 days will be added. Furthermore, you can personalize your employment conditions through a collective labor agreement (CAO) choice model. 
• As Maastricht University, we offer various other excellent secondary employment conditions. These include a good pension scheme with the ABP and the opportunity for UM employees to participate in company fitness and make use of the extensive sports facilities that we also offer to our students. 
• Last but certainly not least, we provide the space and facilities for your personal and professional development. We facilitate this by offering a wide range of training programs and supporting various well-established initiatives such as ‘acknowledge and appreciate’. 

The terms of employment at Maastricht University are largely set out in the collective labor agreement of Dutch Universities. In addition, local provisions specific to UM apply. For more information, click here.

Maastricht University
Why work at Maastricht University?
At Maastricht University (UM), everything revolves around the future. The future of our students, as we work to equip them with a solid, broad-based foundation for the rest of their lives. And the future of society, as we seek solutions through our research to issues from all around the world. Our six faculties combined provide a comprehensive package of study programmes and research.

In our teaching, we use the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) method. Students work in small groups, looking for solutions to problems themselves. By discussing issues and working together to draw conclusions, formulate answers and present them to their peers, students develop essential skills for their future careers.

With over 22,300 students and more than 5,000 employees from all over the world, UM is home to a vibrant and inspiring international community.

Are you drawn to an international setting focused on education, science and scholarship? Are you keen to contribute however your skills and qualities allow? Our door is open to you! As a young European university, we value your talent and look forward to creating the future together.

Click here for more information about UM. 

Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience
The Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience (FPN) is an international faculty with students and staff from various cultural backgrounds, who are connected by their shared curiosity about human behaviour and our brains.   

This curiosity inspires us to explore the wide field of psychology from different perspectives (such as a biological and cognitive viewpoint). By using small-scale and student-centred methods, such as problem-based learning and project-based learning, we encourage a similar kind of curiosity in our students, as we provide them with the tools to discover the world of the human brain.  

 
Research Group

The successful candidate will be supervised by Prof. dr. Ann Meulders, Dr. Sara Scheveneels, and Dr. Kristof Vandael, and will be employed at the Clinical Psychology and Experimental Health Psychology groups of Maastricht University (http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl). These research groups offer an international, productive, collaborative, and interactive environment. The candidate will join the Dutch-Flemish Postgraduate School ‘Experimental Psychopathology’ (http://epp-research.eu), which will provide additional training and facilitate networking and collaboration with other researchers in the field of experimental psychopathology. 

Curious?
Are you interested in this exciting position but still have questions? Feel free to contact Dr. Sara Scheveneels via sara.scheveneels@maastrichtuniversity.nl for more information. 

Applying?

Please submit your application online no later than 13-04-2025.
Applications should include a motivation letter, a full CV (including copies of your academic transcripts), and the names and contact information of two references (recommendation letters are optional).

The preferred starting date of this PhD project is 01-09-2025 (but this is negotiable).

A first interview round will be held on 30-04-2025.
 

Maastricht University is committed to promoting and nurturing a diverse and inclusive community. We believe that diversity in our staff and student population contributes to the quality of research and education at UM, and strive to enable this through inclusive policies and innovative projects led by teams of staff and students. We encourage you to apply for this position.