Health and Medical Psychology (MSc)

Career prospects

Skills after graduation

Professional skills

The master's specialisation Health and Medical Psychology will provide advanced training including skills relevant to health promotion and disease prevention. Furthermore, you learn to apply the intervention methods to the well-being of the physically ill and the self-management of chronic diseases.

Research skills

In line with the profile of Leiden University as a research-intensive institution, the teaching programme is based on state-of-the art scientific research. It maintains a strong emphasis on the acquisition of academic and research skills. Training is provided in all relevant skills, including:

• Reviewing the relevant literature
• Applying theoretical knowledge to analyse practical problems
• Developing hypotheses and writing research proposals
• Designing and carrying out empirical studies
• Designing and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions
• Conducting advanced statistical analyses
• Presenting results and recommendations

Joel Zwiep

Student

I currently work as POH-GGZ (psychologist) for a General Practitioner, and as Research Assistant for Novarum in Amsterdam. For me, this is the perfect combination between clinical work and doing research, but also the perfect mix of basic and specialised mental health care. As a POH-GGZ I see such a wide variety of people that my days are never even remotely the same. The work on itself is very diverse, as every patient has different needs and a different reason to look for help. My work at Novarum is focused on implementing an E-Health intervention for Binge Eating Disorder.

To see patients improve their mental health with an internet based therapy, really makes me hopeful for the future. As waiting lists keep growing and budgets are still getting cut, eHealth really is the future. Patients are much more dependent on their own work and effort which means the more they put in, the more they get out of it, which is not only rewarding for them, but for me as a researcher as well.

Laura Ramiro Pires

Alumna

'Moving from Germany to the Netherlands to study Health Psychology was the best decision I could have ever made. Now I am a Health Psychologist working self-employed as Life Coach and Trainer. I developed a training programme to guide expatriates through their journey of personal change and growing inner resources. I also work as a research assistant for a study on job satisfaction among doctors. I truly love my work.'

Where do our former students work?

Completion of the master's specialisation Health and Medical Psychology will prepare you for subsequent academic study, such as:

• a qualification as health care psychologist (PDO ‘GZ-psycholoog’ (adult)
• a PhD study
• a specific therapy-training programmes (e.g. cognitive behaviour therapy)

If you complete this master’s specialisation, you are qualified for any position requiring a degree in psychology, as well as for general research positions and academic policy-making positions.

These are the most frequent settings for Health and Medical Psychologists:

• General and university hospitals
• Medical psychology settings
• Community health centres (GG & GD)
• Rehabilitation centres
• Government, companies
• National health funds
• Research institutes
• Primary health care settings

Go to the LU Career Zone for more information on positons and organisations where alumni of Health and Medical Psychology work.