Jochem Willemsen
Jochem Willemsen, coordinator of the research group, is associate professor of Clinical Psychology at UCLouvain and psychoanalytic psychotherapist in private practice. In 2019, he joined UCLouvain to teach adult clinical psychology and criminal psychology. He is one of the founding members of the Single Case Archive, a large online archive of published psychotherapy case studies. Prior to his appointment at UCLouvain, he was lecturer at the University of Essex where he developed a portfolio of teaching and research in the field of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, and clinical psychology. During this period, he was involved in the establishment of the new Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies (2017). For several years, he took up the role of director of research in this department. Before that, he gained a PhD in psychology from the Department of Psychoanalysis and Clinical Consulting at Ghent University. The topic of his dissertation was the relation between psychopathic personality traits and symptoms of affective disorders in detainees. During his postdoc research, he conducted research on the treatment of sex offenders.
Emmanuelle Zech
Emmanuelle Zech, member of the research group, is full professor of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, and former dean of the faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at UCLouvain (2021-2024). In 2004, she was appointed on a position on the psychology of adversity. She has chaired the Research Center for the Study of Health and Psychological Development (2008-2014). She has developed a line of courses and training in person-centered and experiential counseling and therapy (PCEP) at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels. She coordinates the Person-centered research and training lab (PCLab), has supported the creation of a helping skills e-learning platform and IPSY/PSP relational competences laboratory. Her current research interests deal with the psychology of bereavement and grief, the psychotherapeutic processes involved in the therapeutic relationship, especially how therapists can deal with difficult therapy or personal experiences, the effects of psychiatric and (psycho)pathological diagnosis, the efficacy of different training methods on helping skills learning outcomes, and the determinants and consequences of informal caregiving.
Natalia Vélez Loaiza, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher and scientific collaborator within the Psychotherapy Research Group. She holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Buenos Aires; a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, Psychopathology and Psychoanalysis from Université Paris Diderot – Paris 7; and postgraduate training in Neuropsychology and Clinical Psychology from the University of Oxford. Her clinical training was shaped at Harvard Medical School, the Mauricio Gastón Institute, and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (USA), later continuing at the Tavistock and Portman Clinic (London), Le Courtil (Belgium), and in public hospitals and psychiatric institutions in Île-de-France (France). She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Additionally, she completed advanced postgraduate studies in Social Psychology and Gender Studies at the University of Brighton (UK), specialized training in Psychoanalysis from the Institute of Psychoanalysis of London (British Psychoanalytical Society), and a Diploma in Clinical Psychoanalysis (PIDF-UFORCA) from the École de la Cause Freudienne and the Psychoanalytic Institute of the Freudian Fields (Université Populaire Jacques Lacan, Paris). Her research explores psychoanalytic theory, literature, linguistics, and the articulation of subjectivity through writing and artistic practices, with a particular interest in the intersections between psychoanalysis, cultural production, social transformation, and the role of language in the construction of subjectivity.
Niccolò Fiorentino Polipo, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and research collaborator of the Louvain Psychotherapy Research Group. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, a second-cycle degree program in Clinical Psychology from the University of Bologna, and a MSc in Forensic Psychology from the University of Kent. He completed his clinical training at the Cyprus Institute for Psychotherapy. He is currently training as a Jungian analyst with the Belgian School for Jungian Psychoanalysis. As an independent scholar, he is interested in the intersection between psychoanalysis and normative ethics. His doctoral project, supervised by Prof Willemsen, focused on the topic of conceptual and reflective skills in psychoanalytic therapy. What does it mean to “think psychoanalytically”? Is it a therapeutic skill? Can it be learnt/taught? He is currently doing postdoctoral research at the Sigmund Freud University Vienna.
Hubert de Condé is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, teaching assistant, and PhD student at the Psychological Sciences Research Institute (IPSY) at UCLouvain. He holds a Master of psychological science in Clinical Psychology and a Postgraduate Certificate in Integrated Psychotherapy, and he is currently training as a Person-Centered psychotherapist. He is also consulting as an independent therapist in Brussels and Louvain-la-Neuve. His doctoral project, supervised by J. Willemsen and E. Zech, focuses on the integration of the personal and professional aspects of therapists and how these develop over time while practicing this complex profession.
Liselotte Cullman is a clinical psychologist and a teaching and research assistant at UCLouvain. After graduating with a Master’s degree in adult Clinical Psychology and specializing in empirically based interventions (UCLouvain), she worked as a clinician in different settings: a psychiatric hospital, a company that provides on-site and telephonic consultations as a response to critical incidents, and a private practice in Brussels where she still holds consultations. She joined the research group in 2021 and is interested in understanding what makes a therapeutic encounter “work”, focusing on therapists’ characteristics. Her research project explores how the therapist’s multicultural orientation influences the therapeutic relationship when client and therapist share or not similar cultural backgrounds.
Sam Flores is a clinical psychologist who graduated at UCLouvain in 2021. He has been working for two years for a specialized centre for the support of victims of intimate partner violence and gender-based violence. He has completed an Advanced Master's degree in Gender Studies in 2023. He is trained in working with situations of intimate partner violence and in providing psychological interventions for victims of sexual violence. He regularly collaborates with other organizations in the field of victim support and gender-based violence. Since September 2022, he is teaching and research assistant at the Faculty of Psychology of UCLouvain, and his doctoral project focuses on the study of current therapeutic discourse on gender violence and its impact on the subjectivity of victims of sexual violence.
George Fragakis, also known by his Sanskrit name Prem Adri, is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist who collaborates with UCLouvain as a teaching assistant, person-centered trainer, and PhD student. His academic journey began in 2007 in Greece, during a time of socio-political and economic crisis, where he studied Psychology at Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences. The intersection of his educational background and personal experiences in the struggle for a more democratic and conscious way of (co-)existing naturally led him to pursue a Master’s degree in Person-Centered Counselling and Psychotherapy at the University of Strathclyde (2012-2016), followed by a second Master’s degree in Conflicts and Communication from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (2016-2018). His professional experiences and commitment to understanding and supporting children inspired him to obtain a third Master’s degree in Psychology of Child Development from the University of Central Lancashire (2013-2014). Since 2018, he has been a certified psychotherapist with the European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP), and since 2021, a certified trainer in the Person-Centered Approach by the Network of European Associations for Person-Centred and Experiential Psychotherapy and Counselling (PCE-Europe). His research interests include intersectionality, privilege, power dynamics, a values-driven approach to therapy, and spirituality.
Isabelle Taverna is a PhD student in Clinical Psychology at the Psychological Sciences Research Institute at UCLouvain. She holds a Master degree in Psychology (UMons, 1995) and a training in psychoanalysis with children. She worked in several child psychiatric institutions with autistic and psychotic children. She has been working for over 20 years in the children and families Department of the Centre Chapelle-aux-champs in Woluwé; she is a trainer and the co-coordinator of the Centre de Formation aux Cliniques Psychanalytiques (UCLouvain). She works as a psychoanalyst in private practice (Espace Analytique de Belgique) and is a teaching and research assistant at St Louis UCLouvain. In her research, she explores the concept of frustration in psychoanalytical theory and clinic, in order to establish what it reveals about the psychic issues that the child goes through and how it can be handled within a contemporary therapeutic setting.
Garance Paimparet is currently completing her master's degree in adult Clinical Psychology at UCLouvain. She joined the research group to contribute to the Single Case Archive project, where she seeks to deepen her understanding of clinical cases and enhance her academic insight. Garance's master's dissertation is part of the International Investigation of Parental Burnout (IIPB), where she is exploring the moderating role of cultural and individual variables on the relationship between parental burnout and acts of violence against children. Additionally, she works in a maternal home, where she accompanies woman and mothers in precarious conditions or who have been victims of violence. With aspirations to pursue a PhD, Garance intends to continue investigating parental issues, and plans to become a psychotherapist after completing her master's degree.
Former members of the research group
Marie Hustinx got a Master in clinical psychology at UCLouvain in 2024. She was member of the research group from 2022 to 2024, first for a research placement and later as a collaborator. She was involved in an empirical study on psychoanalytic psychotherapy training and a comparative case study about psychoanalytic therapy of chronic depression. Both projects led to co-authored papers. Marie plans to become a clinical psychologist based on the psychoanalytic approach drawing on different therapeutic orientations.
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Katarina Kompan Erzar, PhD, is Associate Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy at the Faculty of Theology, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), therapist, and licensed supervisor. She was visiting professor at the Psychological Sciences Research Institute (UCLouvain) in 2023 and she joined the research group from September to December 2023. During her visit, she presented her research on intergenerational transmission of trauma and she was involved in the preparation of a psychotherapy process study based on a single item process measure.
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Felicitas Rost, PhD, is Lecturer in Psychology and Psychotherapy at the School of Psychology & Counselling, The Open University (UK), psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and general vice-president of the Society for Psychotherapy Research. She was visiting professor at the Psychological Sciences Research Institute (UCLouvain) in 2023 and joined the research group in November to collaborate on a case study research project (follow up from the Tavistock Adult Depression Study).
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Esther Goffin obtained her Master in clinical psychology in 2022. She was involved in various research projects within the research group in August-September 2022. She now works as a clinical psychologist and holistic therapist in Tubize.
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Nicolas Janssens obtained his Master in clinical psychology in 2022. He was involved in various research projects within the research group in August-September 2022. He now works as a clinical psychologist in the field of end-of-life care.
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