De Keijser, Prof. Jos

Jos de Keijser is a professor by special appointment at the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences (BSS). In addition, he is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist specializing in complex grief. He combines his practical work with his UG research on the treatment of complex grief and suicide prevention.

De Keijser studied psychology at Utrecht University, where he gained his PhD in 1997 for his thesis on guidance and treatment relating to grief. He has written a number of books, in which he explores the psychological symptoms that surviving relatives may experience during a traumatic experience of grief, in particular after a murder or suicide.

De Keijser has frequently appeared in the news in his role as project leader of a scientific study into the grief experienced by the bereaved after the MH17 flight disaster. According to his research, the right of the bereaved to be heard in court positively affected the psychological symptoms experienced by many of them during the grieving process. ‘They received acknowledgement for the anguish that they had been through. The fact that they could still do something for their departed relatives also provided a sense of justice’, says De Keijser.

Previously in the news (mostly in Dutch)

• A suspect who remains silent is very hard on the bereaved families (in Dutch)
• Deepfake-therapy: can talking with perpetrator or deceased partner help to process something?
• Nearing verdict in MH17 trial, effect of speaking rights on bereaved families examined.
• Heavy grieving process for many MH17 next of kin due to aftermath of disaster
• How Peter R. de Vries became a folk hero: 'We are all relatives'
• Corona hinders grieving process: no processing without a goodbye
• 'People found us cold because we didn't cry all day at an altar'
• Accumulated traumas: over-80s like Ria did not go into therapy until decades after the liberation
• Prolonged mourning is now a mental illness
• Fons Orie and Jos de Keijser on the effect of speech rights on the administration of justice

Contact and more information

• See profile page
• Jos de Keijser's own website