Dr Ruud Berkers is currently working as an early-career psychologist at HSK, a mental health care institution with locations across the Netherlands. He uses cognitive-behavioural techniques to treat a wide variety of complaints, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and burnout. In a previous stage of his career, he was a cognitive neuroscientist studying human memory, sleep and decision-making, obtaining his PhD at Radboud University Nijmegen and doing a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive & Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany. Before that, he studied biology and psychology at Maastricht University and obtained a Master’s in Cognitive & Clinical neuroscience. During the latter program, he gained his first clinical experience working with patients diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition.

From the previous text, it might seem that Ruud’s career went on a straight linear trajectory. However, this is not quite true as his interests have always been broad. During his studies, he gained experience in teaching, science journalism, and science policy, along with science and clinical work. At some point during his postdoc, he decided to redirect course and quit postdoc to work towards a career as a clinical psychologist. He pursued to gain additional education and training, including working in an inpatient clinic specializing in anxiety and compulsive disorders, before landing a job at HSK in the little Dutch city of Ede.

Dr Ruud Berkers is currently working as an early-career psychologist at HSK, a mental health care institution with locations across the Netherlands. He uses cognitive-behavioural techniques to treat a wide variety of complaints, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and burnout. In a previous stage of his career, he was a cognitive neuroscientist studying human memory, sleep and decision-making, obtaining his PhD at Radboud University Nijmegen and doing a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive & Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany. Before that, he studied biology and psychology at Maastricht University and obtained a Master’s in Cognitive & Clinical neuroscience. During the latter program, he gained his first clinical experience working with patients diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition.
From the previous text, it might seem that Ruud’s career went on a straight linear trajectory. However, this is not quite true as his interests have always been broad. During his studies, he gained experience in teaching, science journalism, and science policy, along with science and clinical work. At some point during his postdoc, he decided to redirect course and quit postdoc to work towards a career as a clinical psychologist. He pursued to gain additional education and training, including working in an inpatient clinic specializing in anxiety and compulsive disorders, before landing a job at HSK in the little Dutch city of Ede.

The episode was recorded on May 8th, 2021. This material represents the speaker’s personal views and not the opinions of their current or former employer(s)

Ruud’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruud-berkers-phd-539b21121/

Transcript

Introduction