Clinical and Health Psychology (Research)

Specialisation of: Psychology: Decision-Making and Action Control in Self-Regulation of Human Behaviour (Research)
Degree: Master of Science in Psychology (Research)
Mode of Study: Full-time
Duration: 2 years
Start date: September and February
Language of instruction: English
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In the specialisation in Clinical and Health Psychology, you learn how to research theoretical modelling, diagnostics and treatment methods for psychiatric disorders. This type of research has direct consequences for the practice of healthcare. The quality of the available therapies depends on high-quality research into effects and mechanisms. The results of this research can be seen in guidelines for treatment. Diagnostics, too, is the object of continuous interest, and now even more so with the planned revision of the DSM-IV diagnostic system in 2013.

The information about this programme is available in the following languages:

This research master’s prepares you for a PhD track. Academic and research skills are trained at an advanced level. During your work experience and the preparation for your thesis, you make an in-depth study of a subject, supervised by a member of staff. You learn a broad variety of techniques: clinical trials, psychophysiology, cognitive and psychopharmacological research and neuro maging. If you combine this master’s with a one-year master’s in clinical psychology, you will also be qualified for the follow-up as G-Z psychologist.

What our alumni say

Jonne Oldenburg, PhD student Ghent University

“I wanted to know what makes people tick and to understand their behaviour.”

“I started studying psychology because I was interested in people. I wanted to know what makes them tick, to understand their behaviour. At first my idea was to do this through talking to them as a clinical psychologist. However, during my studies I became more and more interested in doing research on the brain and its workings, because of the fundamental role it plays in determining behaviour and the many mysteries still surrounding it. It was this interest that led me to enroll in the Research Master’s programme in Psychology, a choice that to this day has not once disappointed me.

I am currently a PhD student at Ghent University. I’m doing research in cognitive neuroscience, linking brain activation to behaviour, and so furthering our understanding of human nature. Without the Research Master’s this would not have been possible. It taught me very important research skills and enabled me to do an elaborate internship, equipping me with invaluable assets for the career to which I aspired and in which I have, thanks to my training, already taken my first steps.”