Leonie Vreeke is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology of the Institute of Psychology at Leiden University. In this position she conducts research into the prevention of anxiety in young children. As a staff representative, Leonie is a member of the executive board of Developmental and Educational Psychology. In addition, she teaches in the master courses 'Advanced PsychoDiagnostics', 'Behaviour training in children', 'Cognitive Behavioral Therapy', 'Internal Practical Internship' and supervises clinical internships and master theses.

More information about Leonie Vreeke

News about Leonie Vreeke

• 
  09 July 2024 Psychology students talk about their research at the Science Day 2024
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  06 November 2023 ZonMw grant for Leonie Vreeke to develop a stepped-care treatment for very shy young children
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  21 July 2022 Podcast: Training parents of anxiety prone toddlers

Media

• Interview AD (Dutch)
• Contribution Volkskrant (Dutch)
• Contribution Volkskrant 2 (Dutch)

Leonie Vreeke is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology of the Institute of Psychology at Leiden University. In this position she conducts research into the prevention of anxiety in young children. Further, Leonie is the interim research coördinator in the executive board of Developmental and Educational Psychology. In addition, she teaches several courses in the Child and Adolescent Psychology Master, under which the courses 'Behaviour training in children', 'Cognitive Behavioral Therapy', 'Internal Practical Internship'. In addition, she supervises clinical internships and master theses.

Short CV

Leonie studied Developmental and Educational Psychology at Leiden University. She obtained her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2013. Her research project under the supervision of Prof. dr. P. Muris was called "Early screening of anxiety problems in young Dutch children from various ethnic backgrounds". In this longitudinal research project she investigated the role of an anxious temperament and overprotective parenting in the development of anxiety problems. After her PhD she was a senior researcher at Yulius GGZ. In this position she supervised junior researchers, PhD students and a clinical psychologist in various (EU-funded) research projects, mostly Randomized Controlled Trails, into the effectiveness of new, innovative treatments for young people with ADHD. From 2015 to 2020 she worked as an assistant professor at Utrecht University in the Department of Psychosocial Problems. In October 2020, she started her position of Assistant Professor at Leiden University.

Research

Her main research interest is studying the interplay between individual characteristics such as anxiety, temperament/personality and parental factors such as overprotection in the development of psychosocial problems. By studying these factors, she wants to improve the effectiveness of (preventive) interventions. In 2020 she received a ZonMw grant of 400,000 euro to investigate the effectiveness of an early intervention in anxiety-prone toddlers and preschoolers. This research is being conducted in collaboration with PhD student Nina Komrij, and Prof. Michiel Westenberg, various social partners such as the GDD Amsterdam, GGD Groningen, ’t Kabouterhuis, Prezens, Youz Den Haag, Indigo Rotterdam, Arkin. For more information about the Cool Little Kids research project, see: Cool Little Kids - Leiden University.

In 2023, she received 3 additional grants of 850.000 euro in total to continue this line of research. In the first project, funded by ZonMw called 'Brave Steps', she aims to develop a stepped-care treatment and investigate which type of support is most suitable for which group of parents and children, starting with an online webinar for parents (step 1), group treatment (step 2), and intensive individual treatment (step 3). In the second ZonMw project, called 'Building blocks of success' she aims to examine in three different subprojects examine for whom, when and why a preventive anxiety intervention works. Several societal partners are included in both projects, starting in 2024. In the third project, funded by the Dutch Association of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (VGCT), she will develop a podcasts series about young, anxiety prone children.

Teaching

Leonie Vreeke gained experience as a scientific teacher at Leiden University and as a PhD student at Erasmus University in developing, coordinating and teaching theoretical and practical bachelor's and master's courses. She also supervised various bachelor and master theses and was involved in the development of the master 'Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology' at Erasmus University. At Utrecht University she was involved in clinical courses such as 'Psychodiagnostics' and supervising clinical internships and master theses. She was also involved in the development of a new course in which first-year bachelor students solve social issues and make an effort to translate scientific insights into practical advice for policy makers and parents.

At Leiden University, Leonie teaches in the courses 'Behavior Training in Children' (MSc), 'Cognitive Behavioral Therapy' (MSc), 'Internal Practical Internship' and she supervises clinical internships and master theses.

Registrations

• Basic Accreditation in PsychoDiagnostics, Dutch Institute of Psychologists (BAPD-NIP)
• Basic Teaching Qualification (BKO)
• Postgraduate School for Experimental Psychopathology certificate (EPP)
• Scientific member of the Dutch Cognitive Behavioral Therapy association (VGCT)

Grants

Leonie has successfully applied for several grants with a total amount of almost 1.4 M euro granted:

• 2024 | Lead applicant in the VGCT call ‘Goede ideeën zijn subsidie waard’. Amount applied for: €9.995. Grant title: ‘Een podcast serie over angst bij jonge kinderen’. February 2024: grant awarded.
• 2023 | Lead applicant in the ZonMw call ‘Onderzoek naar kernelementen van interventies in de jeugdsector’. Amount applied for: €239,997.00. Grant Title: “Bouwstenen van succes: Analyse van de kerncomponenten in een effectieve preventieve interventie voor angst bij jonge kinderen.”  December 2023: grant awarded.
• 2023 | Lead applicant in the ZonMw call ‘Klinisch toegepast onderzoek naar vroege herkenning en behandeling in de geestelijke gezondheidszorg – Ronde 3’. Amount applied for: €599.997,00. Grant Title “Brave Steps: A Stepped-Care Approach to Building Confidence in Anxiety-prone Young Children”. October 2023: grant awarded.
• 2022 | Co-applicant on the grass root grant (PI: dr. Marieke Bos). Amount applied for: €8.000 euro. Project idea: introducing interactive video material to strengthen the coherence between the different master courses and to increase coherence between working method/didactics and learning outcome. June 2022: grant awarded.
• 2019 | Lead applicant in the ZonMw call Knowledge gaps. Title: 'Cool Little Kids: Effectivity of an early intervention program for anxiety-prone toddlers in the Netherlands'. Amount apllied for: €400.000,00. December 2019 grant awarded.
• 2018 | Co-applicant Comenius NRO -project ‘De pedagogische praktijkopdracht: verbinding tussen wetenschap, onderwijs en praktijk in het eerste studiejaar’. Application successful; €49.606 granted.
• 2015 | Member application committee Academic Collaborative Centre Youth (Academische Werkplaats Transformatie Jeugd; ST-RAW) Rotterdam. Workpackage leader ‘Ruimte voor regie’. Application successful; €48.000 granted.
• 2013 | Lead applicant Fonds Psychische Gezondheid -  project PowerCoaching, an innovative treatment for youth with ADHD. Application successful; € 20.000 granted.

Other academic responsibilities

As a staff representative, Leonie is a member of the executive board of Developmental and Educational Psychology. At this moment, she is also interim research coördinator at the executive board. 

Leonie is editor of the diamond open access journal 'Youth in Development' and a reviewer for Child Psychiatry and Human Development, PlosOne, European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.