Prediction and treatment of prolonged grief
Lonneke Lenferink has been working as an assistant professor at the University of Twente since 2021. She spends the majority of her week conducting research into the definition, assessment, prediction and treatment of prolonged grief. ‘So I work with people who have experienced a loss of a loved one, both adults and children. I am working on multiple projects and most are focused on grief after a traumatic loss.'
'A traumatic loss is an unexpected or a violent loss,' says Lenferink. 'Such as the death of a loved one resulting from murder, long-term disappearance, traffic accident, a disaster such as the plane crash of MH17 or an earthquake. After the traumatic loss of a loved one, I study how the loss affects those left behind and find ways to support them in coping with the loss.’ In addition to her research at UT, Lenferink also conducts research at the University of Groningen and Utrecht University.
In order to measure grief responses after a traumatic loss, Lenferink uses online questionnaires or conducts interviews at various stages in the grieving process, sometimes even multiple times a day using a smartphone app. These aids help her study how grief responses change over time and which factors play a role in coping with loss. ‘I mainly focus on symptoms of prolonged grief disorder. These are long-term grief reactions that impede everyday life.’ Prolonged grief disorder has recently been added as a psychiatric disorder to the most frequently used classification systems in psychiatry. ‘This is the first time that a grief disorder has been included in the most recent edition of the DSM [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, text revised fifth edition]. I have developed a tool for measuring these grief symptoms. This instrument is now available in fifteen languages and is used in scientific research and clinical practice.’
In various randomized controlled treatment studies, Lenferink studies the effectiveness of psychological treatments aimed at reducing symptoms of prolonged grief. The treatments are given by therapists working at the mental health care institutes that Lenferink collaborates with. ‘The goal is to improve prolonged grief treatment and help people cope with their loss. Everyone experiences a loss. The majority does not require professional help to deal with their grief, but about 10% of people who experience a loss struggle to cope and move on. I would like to offer them appropriate psychological help.’
Because of the Veni grant she received in 2022, the researcher will be plenty busy working on new research ideas in the years to come. Her goal is to provide evidence-based bereavement care for people who get stuck in their grief process and need psychological help. ‘And I hope that treatments will become more accessible for those in need of support and that we can get rid of the stigmas associated with getting help and the topic of death in general.’
Education
As a lecturer, Lenferink teaches Bachelor’s and Master’s students in psychology; the programmes she completed when she was a student. She teaches Needs Assessment & Intervention Design, Group Dynamics & Academic Writing, and Research Methods and Research Project. She also supervises PhD students researching grief and supervises Bachelor’s and Master’s theses. As a lecturer, Lenferink values good cooperation and collaboration between students. ‘It’s the key to success in academia. Research is teamwork: that is also what I teach those around me including my students.’
About Lonneke Lenferink
Lonneke Lenferink is a UT alumna and an assistant professor in the department of Psychology, Health and Technology (PGT) of the faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences (BMS). Before she started working at BMS, she completed a Bachelor’s in Psychology, a Master’s in Health Psychology & Technology and a Master’s in Positive Clinical Psychology & Technology at UT. She obtained her PhD at the University of Groningen with her study entitled The disappearance of a significant other: Consequences and Care and worked as post-doctoral researcher at the University of Groningen and Utrecht. She is also connected to the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia) and Aarhus University (Denmark) as a visiting researcher. In 2022 the Dutch Research Council awarded her a Veni grant.
Press photos
These press photos can be used, please include the name of the photographer, Fokke Eenhoorn.