Communicating when the stakes are high
Bridging different worlds
Finding direction together
I am a criminologist and social psychologist intrigued by what happens between people when situations become difficult. How do we keep communicating when emotions run high? How do we understand someone whose perspective is very different from our own? And how do we find a way forward when there is no obvious answer?
These questions run through much of what I do — in research and education, in my work with professionals, and in supporting students and colleagues in finding their own direction.
A little about me
My background is in criminology, investigative psychology and social psychology. Today, my work sits at the intersection of psychology, safety and security.
I study communication in situations where the stakes are high, including suicide negotiations, police interviews and ransomware negotiations. I am particularly interested in the human side of these interactions: what helps people connect, what happens when communication goes wrong, and how we can use those insights to better prepare professionals for difficult conversations.
But research is only part of what drives me. I enjoy moving between different worlds – science, practice and policy – and bringing together people and ideas that might otherwise not meet. And I get a lot of satisfaction from working with students and colleagues as they discover what interests them, where their strengths lie and where they would like to go next.
Looking across these different parts of my work, there is a common thread: understanding people, creating connections and helping turn complexity into something we can work with.
What I do
Communicating when the stakes are high
Some conversations matter more than others. When pressure is high, trust is fragile or emotions run strong, the way we communicate can make a real difference.
My research explores what happens in these interactions: how people build trust and influence, how they respond when communication goes wrong, and how difficult conversations can move towards a safer outcome.
I work closely with professionals in safety and security and translate scientific insights into research, education, talks and training.
Bridging different worlds
Some of the most interesting things happen where different worlds meet.
Throughout my work, I bring together science, practice and policy. Each sees different parts of a problem and brings different knowledge to the table. I enjoy finding the connections between those perspectives and creating opportunities for people to learn from one another.
Sometimes that means developing research together with professionals. Sometimes it means translating scientific knowledge into practice. And sometimes it simply starts by putting the right people in the same room.
Finding direction together
I enjoy helping students and colleagues discover what makes them tick, where their strengths lie and what direction they would like to take.
For me, mentoring is not about providing someone with the answer. It is about creating space to explore: asking questions, sharing experiences, thinking along and sometimes opening up possibilities that were not immediately visible.
Whether I am supervising a student, supporting a colleague or working alongside someone on a new challenge, I hope to help people find a direction that feels like their own.
What I’m working on
There are always a few questions, projects and ideas occupying my mind. At the moment, these include:
Exploring new ways to practise difficult conversations
How can we prepare professionals for conversations that are difficult to practise safely in real life? I am exploring how virtual reality and game-based environments can be used to train suicide negotiations and interactions with people showing concerning behaviour. Looking ahead, I am also curious about the possibilities AI might offer for making these training experiences more adaptive and responsive.
Learning from real-world crisis negotiations
What can we learn when we look across many real-life crisis negotiations rather than individual incidents? One of the PhD projects I supervise is developing a Dutch crisis negotiation database. By bringing together information from real-world cases, we hope to better understand how these interactions unfold and, ultimately, how we can use those insights to support practice and training.
Understanding what helps crisis teams work well together
What helps people speak up, share doubts and challenge one another when important decisions need to be made under pressure? A new PhD project I supervise explores psychological safety in high-stakes strategic crisis management teams, with the aim of understanding what helps these teams work and make decisions effectively when it matters most.
Explore my research and ideas.
Let’s connect
Many of the projects I value have started with a conversation.
If you are interested in my research, see possibilities for collaboration, are looking for a talk or training, or simply think our interests might connect, feel free to get in touch.