PhD Reducing avoidance altering threat imagery in panic disorder

Position: PhD Candidate Reducing avoidance by altering threat imagery in panic disorder - Baandomein
Can imagery rescripting reduce avoidance in panic disorder? In this PhD project, you will join an interdisciplinary team and use therapeutic techniques and fundamental learning procedures to tackle distressing images related to aversive memories. The aim is to generate insights with direct impact on clinical practice and patient wellbeing.

PhD Candidate  Reducing avoidance by altering threat imagery in panic disorder

Our goal:  This interdisciplinary project targets distressing flashbacks and flash forwards linked to panic disorder using imagery rescripting techniques. The project will combine experimental and clinical research to advance theory-driven treatment improvements.

Your colleagues:  You will work within a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary team across the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience (FPN, Maastricht), Mondriaan Mental Health Center (Maastricht), and Utrecht University (Clinical Psychology). The supervisory team consists of Prof. Dr. Iris Engelhard, Dr. Pauline Dibbets, Prof. Dr. Koen Schruers, and Dr. Angelos Krypotos. Together with experts from Oxford University and KU Leuven, this team provides an international, productive, collaborative, and interactive environment.

The candidate will join the Dutch-Flemish Postgraduate School ‘Experimental Psychopathology’ ((Use the "Apply for this Job" box below).), which will provide additional training and facilitate networking and collaboration with other researchers in the field of experimental psychopathology.

This PhD position is strategically positioned at the intersection of mental health research and treatment innovation. Your work will directly contribute to advancing mechanistic understanding and improving interventions for anxiety-related disorders and more specifically, for panic disorder.

What you do

Design and execute qualitative and quantitative studies using a CO2 inhalation procedure;

Implement the findings of these studies in a single-case experimental design (SCED);

Test panic-prone participants as well as participants with panic disorder;

Apply advanced statistical and computational modelling techniques to analyze the SCED data;

Collaborate with clinical partners and interdisciplinary researchers;

Disseminate research findings via scientific publications and presentations at national and international conferences;

Contribute to a culture of open science and methodological rigor.

Are you ready to set the course for the years ahead? Then we’d love to meet you.

What you bring
We’re not looking for check boxes; we’re interested in who you are and what you bring. Do you recognize yourself in this?

Education background:
You have a (research) master’s degree in a relevant field, including psychology, health sciences, biomedical sciences, or neuroscience.

Research mindset and experimental research experience:
You have experience with designing and conducting experimental research, including formulating research questions, developing or implementing experimental procedures, and collecting and interpreting research data. You have a strong interest in experimental and clinical research, particularly in anxiety-related disorders, learning processes, mental imagery, and related areas.

Programming, statistical and analytical skills:
You have experience with, (or affinity for) programming and implementing experimental tasks and procedures. This includes, for example, developing, adapting or running computer-based experiments and collecting experimental data. You also have experience with, or a strong willingness to develop, skills in advanced statistical methods and quantitative data analysis.

Experience with computational modelling, single-case experimental designs (SCED), repeated-measures data, and/or experimental data analysis is highly…