Last summer, Prout together with UPP, held a petition for psychological support for UU PhDs. We collected more than 1000 signatures, which we handed to UU rector, Henk Kummeling.
The university decided to start a 6-month trial for a PhD psychologist!
The PhD psychologist offers psychological support when it comes to psychological problems caused by the doctoral degree trajectory or that have a direct effect on the trajectory. The PhD psychologist is specialized in short-term treatment for anxiety issues, mood complaints, concentration problems, fear of failure, motivational issues, etc.
The PhD psychologist is available for all PhDs at Utrecht University (up to one year after contract ending) and is well aware of the unique position that PhD candidates are in. Therefore, he is able to offer adequate assistance that is specifically tailored to the PhD candidate.
An appointment can be made using the following link: https://students.uu.nl/en/schedule-an-appointment-with-phd-psychologist . Depending on the specific support need, there are a number of options after the intake: one-off advice/ information, (short-term) individual counselling, group sessions or referral. There is a one off charge of 25 euros for the intake. Everything that is discussed will remain strictly confidential.
The PhD psychologist can be reached by phduu@uu.nl.