PhD candidates
Are you a PhD candidate, and is there something you’d prefer to discuss with someone other than your thesis director or supervisor? The confidential counsellor for PhD candidates is here to help. You can speak to him/her in confidence and receive advice. If you experience symptoms of physical or mental illness during your PhD research, you can go to the university doctor or psychologist.
Problems with your supervisor or colleagues
Researching a PhD is an intensive process that takes several years, and things don’t always go according to plan. You will be able to discuss most issues with your PhD supervisor or mentor, but that is not always possible. You and your supervisor or mentor may experience persistent problems with your communication, or you might strongly disagree about the direction your research should take. It’s also possible that your working relationship with a colleague might become unsafe due to discrimination, bullying, sexual intimidation or violence.
Don’t wait to seek help
If you experience problems during your PhD that you can’t solve alone, you can talk in confidence to the confidential counsellor for PhD candidates at your Graduate School. You can also choose to talk to one of the other confidential counsellors. The confidential counsellor will listen and help you explore the options to improve the situation. If you wish, the confidential counsellor can offer further support: for example, by being there during a difficult conversation.
More information about confidential counsellors
Find more about what a confidential counsellors does and does not do, confidentiality and options for appeal and objection on the page Confidential counsellors.
When you should go to the university doctor
If you are experiencing medical or psychological health problems, you can go to one of the university doctors. They will also be able to put you in touch with a psychologist.
The psychologist
The psychologist at university, specialises in issues that are relevant to PhD candidates. The PhD psychologist has expertise in short-term treatment of anxiety issues, mood complaints, concentration and motivation problems, fear of failure and more.
In case of acute mental stress, you can consult the PhD psychologist and/or your GP directly. They provide the first line of care and can refer you to more specialised help if necessary.
Meet the confidential counsellors
Mariana Françozo
Confidential Counsellor for PhD candidates in the faculty of Archeology
"PhDs can face stress and problems at any given moment of their trajectory. Often, these problems feel too big to be dealt with alone. The confidential counsellor is here to help you find solutions."
Get in touch with Mariana Françozo
Marije Bedaux
Confidential counsellor for PhD candidates in the Humanities and KITLV
“A person might feel like they can never meet their supervisor’s expectations, as if more is always expected of them. Or something could go wrong with the balance of power. There’s always more than one side to the story, so you try to get to the heart of the problem.”
Marije Bedaux is a confidential counsellor for personnel affairs at Leiden University. She has followed various training courses, including a mediation course. After obtaining her law degree, she worked as a lawyer for a number of years. She then continued her career in recruitment and selection and worked as a career coach for some time.
Please contact Marije Bedaux via vertrouwenspersoon@bb.leidenuniv.nl or tel: +31715272727.
Rikki Holtmaat
Confidential counsellor for PhD candidates in the Faculty of Law
'Don’t think “That’s just how it is” or “I’ll just have to suck that up.” A problem is never too small for the confidential counsellors. The sooner you contact them, the easier it is to find a solution.'
Rikki Holtmaat worked at Leiden Law School for over 30 years. As a retired professor, she is familiar with all aspects of a PhD and the different paths you can take to resolve your problem.
Get in touch with Rikki Holtmaat.
Annemarie Meijer
Confidential counsellor for PhD candidates in the Faculty of Science
“PhD candidates can turn to me with any issues hindering their PhD trajectory in some way. It is beneficial to have someone outside your daily work environment, where conversations are informal and confidential.”
Annemarie Meijer is Professor of Immunobiology at the Institute of Biology Leiden and the confidential counsellor for the Faculty of Science. She has a lot of experience with international networks for PhD training and with supervising PhD candidates from diverse backgrounds, as she explains in an interview.
Get in touch with Annemarie Meijer via a.h.meijer@biology.leidenuniv.nl or +31 71 527 4927.
Teun van Gelder
Confidential counsellor for PhD candidates in the Faculty of Medicine/LUMC
Get in touch with Teun van Gelder.