Postdoctoral Researcher AI Chatbot Interventions Mental Health

Wil jij mentale gezondheid verbeteren met verantwoorde AI‑chatbots in een stedelijke en multiculturele omgeving? En onderzoek je graag samen met clinici en data‑experts wat deze technologie écht toevoegt aan de zorg?

You will be appointed by the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry of Amsterdam UMC Research BV and will become a member of the Centre for Urban Mental Health (UMH). UMH is the largest interdisciplinary Research Priority Area of the University of Amsterdam. This centre aims to develop and evaluate interventions that target new pathways to improve mental health in urban settings, such as the city of Amsterdam, that take into account the complexities and dynamics of mental health problems and mental health disorders in an urban environment.

We are currently looking for a post‑doc who will be actively involved in various UMH projects with an emphasis on the rigorous scientific evaluation of AI‑driven chatbots for the diagnosis and treatment of common mental health conditions (main focus anxiety and depression). As increasing numbers of individuals turn to AI‑based tools for mental health support—often in largely unregulated contexts—there is a critical need to develop and rigorously evaluate evidence‑based, ethically grounded interventions that can be safely deployed to expand access to mental health care, particularly for underserved and hard‑to‑reach populations.

This work aims to assess not only clinical effectiveness, but also safety, acceptability, equity, and real‑world implementation of conversational agents that support mental health care. Combining methods from clinical psychology, psychiatry, and artificial intelligence, the research will examine how natural language processing and large language models can be responsibly deployed in digital mental health interventions.

• Collaborate closely with software programmer to optimize the AI‑based interventions.
• Evaluation of AI chatbot interventions for common mental health conditions in RCTs and other designs.
• Work closely with clinical and methodological collaborators.
• Contribute to medical ethical application, scientific publications, conference presentations, documentation, and open‑science activities.
• Supervise junior researchers and contribute to the development of the research group.
• Contribute to the development of grant proposals and future research initiatives within UMH.

• Finished or nearly finished PhD or MD/PhD in a relevant related field, such as Psychology, Psychiatry, or related interdisciplinary fields.
• Strong expertise in at least some of the following areas: conducting experiments and patient trials, digital or AI‑based interventions.
• Strong interest in mental health research and interdisciplinary collaboration with clinical partners.
• We consider familiarity with ethical, legal, and privacy issues related to AI in mental health and healthcare settings as an advantage.
• A solid publication record appropriate to career stage is desirable.

• The candidate will be appointed at Department of Psychiatry of Amsterdam UMC Research BV.
• A stimulating work environment partly located at the historic Institute for Advanced Study in Amsterdam city center, fostering collaboration with interdisciplinary researchers.
• A central and highly visible role within an ambitious, internationally connected research project.
• Access to a rich network of researchers and clinical professionals within the Centre for Urban Mental Health and Amsterdam UMC.
• A post‑doc contract for the duration of 2 years with the intention of prolonging it, depending on funding, embedded within the department of Psychiatry at AmsterdamUMC as part of the Centre for Urban Mental Health.
• A salary in scale 10-11 based on full time employment and type of experience. Also dependent on whether a PhD diploma has already been acquired. As of July 1, 2026, the salary will be increased by 3.5% in accordance with the UMC collective labour agreement. You will also receive a 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end‑of‑year bonus.
• Vacation hours: 194.4 hours per year for full‑time employment and the option to…