Albert M. van Hemert is professor of Psychiatry, head of the LUMC department of Psychiatry and also chairman of Division 3. He is leader of the research programme Stress related mental disorders across the lifespan. He is member of the board of the NESDA-consortium and of the LUMC Vrienden Stichting and he is member-professional of the Regional Medical Disciplinary Board The Hague.

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Albert M. van Hemert is professor of Psychiatry, head of the LUMC department of Psychiatry and also chairman of Division 3. He is leader of the research programme Stress related mental disorders across the lifespan. He is member of the board of the NESDA-consortium and of the LUMC Vrienden Stichting and he is member-professional of the Regional Medical Disciplinary Board The Hague.

Psychiatry

As a psychiatrist-epidemiologist I aim to focus my research on extending our fundamental knowledge of Psychiatry, together with improvements in patient care. Through the years my epidemiological research has focused on a variety of clinical challenges, most of the time with successfully combining extension of knowledge with clinical innovations.
In our current research we focus on emotional dysregulation in mood and other stress related mental disorders. In the complex interaction of biological vulnerability, early adverse experiences and later (traumatic) events, we search for patterns that may guide sensible choices to be made to improve  prevention and clinical treatment. The current DSM-classification is to crude for this purpose. Experiences teaches that the disorders we study occur on a spectrum of well-marked episodes the may or may not repeat on the one hand, to a much more chronic and enduring course. At one end of the spectrum treatment can sensibly aim for full recovery of symptoms and function, while at the other end interventions should be developed for (secondary) prevention and rehabilitation. Principles of early detection and ‘Balanced Care’ may be of practical value. In close collaboration with the NESDA-consortium and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry we will move towards the early transition of youth into adulthood to prevent stress related mental disorders.

Academic career

Albert M. van Hemert studied Medicine at the Erasmus University Rotterdam (1977-1984), where he continued his specialization in Epidemiology. He completed his PhD thesis in 1989 (title: Epidemiology of Osteoporosis and the Prediction of fractures). From 1988 until 2003 he was employed in LUMC, initially as an epidemiologist and later as a psychiatrist. His research aimed at the Interconnectedness of somatic and mental disorders. This research evolved into the first evidence based cognitive behavioral therapy for medically unexplained physical symptoms in the Netherlands. From 1994 to 1998 he completed psychiatric training in the Haags-Leids Opleidingsconsortium Psychiatrie (HLOCP).

From 2003 until 2011 he was employed by the Parnassia Group in The Hague, as head of the Psychiatric Emergency Service and Training Officer for Social Psychiatry. The main focus of his research shifted towards the Epidemiology of Public Mental Health. He initiated the psychiatric case register of The Hague and was closely involved with the Suicide-Registration of the municipal health service. As a method to connect with difficult to reach patients he introduced Critical Time Intervention in the Netherlands. He was chairman of the committee for the Multidisciplinary Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Suicidal Behavior. In 2008 he was appointed at the LUMC department of Public Health and Primary Care, as professor by special appointment for the Epidemiology of Public Mental Health.

In 2011 he has returned to LUMC as professor and head of the department of Psychiatry. His responsibility has broadened to the full range of patient care, teaching and research in psychiatry. In the clinic and in his personal research his focus is now on difficult to treat mood disorders. With his motto Academic strong – Socially Involved, he continues to strive to connect basic research with applications in clinical practice.

Activities