S.H.M. (Sare) van Puijenbroek

Network-informed treatment for complex psychopathology

Many people struggling with complex psychopathology continue to experience persistent symptoms despite receiving treatment as usual. Within my PhD project, I investigate whether a network-informed approach to treatment can improve outcomes for this group. Rather than treating psychopathology as a fixed set of symptoms responding to a single protocol, this approach conceptualises mental health problems as networks of interacting symptoms, opening the door to more individualised intervention strategies. Using single-case experimental designs (SCEDs), I compare network-informed treatment to treatment as usual. This methodology makes it possible to capture the dynamics of individual symptom networks over time and to assess treatment effects at the level of the individual. Ultimately, my goal is to contribute to more targeted, effective treatment strategies for people with complex psychopathology who have not been served well by standard approaches.