Kim de Jong
is an assistant professor at the Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University in the Netherlands, a researcher, and in addition to that, she also has her own practice as an independent psychologist.
Interviewed by Michaela Nespěchalová, April 2024
- What is the purpose of your stay at the Faculty of Social Studies?
I was invited to come here to talk to a group of master's students and Ph.D. students, consult on a research project that has been conducted locally, and give some advice on the research design.
2. What was your motivation to study clinical psychology?
I thought it was just so fascinating the things that people go through or experience when they are having psychological problems. Originally, I did not want to study clinical psychology, but when I was studying, I just found the materials and the lessons about clinical psychology so interesting that I ended up deciding to do that.
3. What is your main area of research?
My research is on trying to improve outcomes for patients in routine psychotherapy. So, what we know is that the outcomes of psychotherapy are not as good in routine clinical practice as they are in randomized control trials for research for example. Therefore, I am trying to help therapists to deliver their interventions in a better way. So, I do this by studying something called routine outcome monitoring and feedback, where you follow the patient´s progress and signal to the therapist that the patient is not progressing well and give them feedback on how their patients are progressing. The other thing I study is how therapists can enhance their skills, not just their technical skills but also their interpersonal skills in dealing with challenging patients for example.
4. What common practices among highly effective therapists have you observed in your research?
This is a bit difficult question because the research is still relatively emerging in this area, so there isn´t as much research as you would hope. But one of the things that is emerging as evidence is that highly effective therapist seems to have very good interpersonal skills, that is one aspect and the other thing is that there is some emerging evidence that therapists who reflect more on their own functioning and have a self-critical but gentle stance towards themselves and kind of review their own sessions and think about what can I do better that is something seems to predict better outcomes
5. As someone who has worked both in academia and in private practice, how do you balance your roles as a researcher and a practitioner? What unique perspectives do you think this dual experience brings to your work?
I am afraid that it comes down to not seeing so many patients, as I only see a couple of patients per week because it is hard to combine them. I used to see more patients but when you are getting along in your career, it becomes harder and harder to combine the different roles.
6. As a psychologist, do you have any advice for students who may be struggling with their mental health during difficult periods?
The main advice I would give is not to be ashamed if you are struggling with mental health issues because a lot of people face this at some point in their lives. Sometimes people feel ashamed when they experience feelings of depression, anxiety, or stress. However, it is quite normal, and in fact, one in three people will meet the criteria for a psychiatric disorder in their lifetime, so it is a common experience. Additionally, many more people have subclinical symptoms. Therefore, if you feel like you need help, don't feel ashamed, there is good therapy available. Try to find some resources for yourself, such as online programs, which can be more accessible for some people. These issues usually don't go away by themselves, so if you need help, try to find it and know that you can get through it.