Professor Elisabeth Utens
Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam and University of Amsterdam
Biography
Utens serves as the chairperson of the National Network of Paediatric Psychology (Pediatrische Psychologie-NL) and is a member of the Steering committee of the Psychosocial Working Group of the European Association of Paediatric Cardiology. Utens has funded her research from the numerous external grants she has acquired. Under her supervision, eight PhD candidates have now completed their doctoral thesis on her line of research. Utens has authored numerous international articles which have been published in authoritative academic journals, including the European Heart Journal, International Journal of Cardiology, etc.
Utens studies psychosocial outcomes, particularly anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress, in children with a physical disorder (such as congenital heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, cystic fibrosis and HIV) as well as the influence of anaesthesia and psychological preparation of children for surgery. Her research includes examining which factors predict these psychosocial outcomes in the long term. She has carried out both cross-sectional and longitudinal patient-related studies and in recent years has focused primarily on intervention studies, including the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy on anxiety and depression in adolescents with inflammatory bowel diseases, and the effects of sports activities on emotional problems in adolescents with congenital heart disease.