I was trained as a clinical psychologist and methodologist and finished my dissertation ‘Specific Characteristics of Adolescent Suicide Attempters’ to receive a Ph.D degree in medicine (1992). After graduating from Utrecht University, I became employed by the Academic Hospital for Children and Youth “het Wilhelmina Kinderziekenhuis” in Utrecht as a psychologist/researcher. In 1993 I was appointed as Assistant Professor at the department of Clinical and Health Psychology at Leiden University. My research was primarily directed towards emotional problems, especially depression and suicidality in children and adolescents. During the Leiden appointment, I was trained as a cognitive behavior therapist and gave classes in collective interventions to tackle youth problems, communicative skills, prevention theory and practice, and methods of research and statistics. On request, I co-authored the report ‘Aanzet tot Inzet” in which the main blueprint for a new evidence-based local youth policy method involving youth health care was described. In 2001 I became head of research at the Youth section of the Rotterdam Municipal Public Health Service. Four years later, I was promoted to the staff of this organisation as a main policy adviser and research coordinator. in 2007, I joined the Netherlands Youth institute as a programme manager. Recently, I started my own company, bureau Hansei. Specialties: suicidal behaviour, youth issues, emotional problems, youth monitoring, youth policy, statistics, data management, ict development