Postdoctoral Researcher AI Chatbot Interventions Mental Health Conditions
You will be appointed by the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry of Amsterdam UMC Research BV and will become a member of The Centre for Urban Mental Health (UMH). UMH is the largest interdisciplinary Research Priority Area of the University of Amsterdam. This centre aims to develop and evaluate interventions that target new pathways to improve mental health in urban settings, such as the city of Amsterdam, that take into account the complexities and dynamics of mental health problems and mental health disorders in an urban environment.
We are currently looking for a post-doc who will be actively involved in various UMH projects with an emphasis on the rigorous scientific evaluation of AI-driven chatbots for the diagnosis and treatment of common mental health conditions (main focus anxiety and depression). As increasing numbers of individuals turn to AI-based tools for mental health support—often in largely unregulated contexts—there is a critical need to develop and rigorously evaluate evidence-based, ethically grounded interventions that can be safely deployed to expand access to mental health care, particularly for underserved and hard-to-reach populations. This work aims to assess not only clinical effectiveness, but also safety, acceptability, equity, and real-world implementation of conversational agents that support mental health care. Combining methods from clinical psychology, psychiatry, and artificial intelligence, the research will examine how natural language processing and large language models can be responsibly deployed in digital mental health interventions.
Your role as postdoctoral researcher:
- Collaborate closely with software programmer to optimize the AI-based interventions.
- Evaluation of AI chatbot interventions for common mental health conditions in RCTs and other designs.
- Work closely with clinical and methodological collaborators.
- Contribute to medical ethical application, scientific publications, conference presentations, documentation, and open-science activities.
- Supervise junior researchers and contribute to the development of the research group.
- Contribute to the development of grant proposals and future research initiatives within UMH.
We are seeking a highly motivated, talented individual. Also scientist practitioners are welcome to apply. In addition, you have a:
- Finished or nearly finished PhD or MD/PhD in a relevant related field, such as Psychology, Psychiatry, or related interdisciplinary fields.
- Strong expertise in at least some of the following areas: conducting experiments and patient trials, digital or AI-based interventions.
- Strong interest in mental health research and interdisciplinary collaboration with clinical partners.
- We consider familiarity with ethical, legal, and privacy issues related to AI in mental health and healthcare settings as an advantage.
- A solid publication record appropriate to career stage is desirable.
Studies show that women and members of underrepresented groups only apply for jobs if they meet 100% of the qualifications. Do you meet the educational requirements but not yet all of the requested experience? We encourage you to apply anyway.
- The candidate will be appointed at Department of Psychiatry of Amsterdam UMC Research BV.
- A stimulating work environment partly located at the historic Institute for Advanced Study in Amsterdam city center, fostering collaboration with interdisciplinary researchers
- A central and highly visible role within an ambitious, internationally connected research project.
- Access to a rich network of researchers and clinical professionals within the Centre for Urban Mental Health and Amsterdam UMC.
- A post-doc contract for the duration of 2 years with the intention of prolonging it, depending on funding, embedded within the department of Psychiatry at AmsterdamUMC as part of the Centre for Urban Mental Health.
- A salary in scale 10-11 based on full time employment and type of experience. Also dependent on whether a PhD diploma has already been acquired. As of July 1, 2026, the salary will be increased by 3.5% in accordance with the UMC collective labor agreement. You will also receive a 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
- Vacation hours: 194.4 hours per year for full-time employment and the option to accrue additional hours.
- 100% public transport reimbursement. Do you come on foot, by bike, or by car? Then you will receive a reimbursement of €0.21 per km (for cars, a maximum of 40 km one-way applies). Do you come by bike? Make use of our excellent bicycle scheme.
- Pension accrual with BeFrank, a modern, understandable, and fairly priced pension.
- Budget for attending international conferences and specialized methodological training.
You will work at Amsterdam UMC (location AMC) and at the Institute for Advanced Study Amsterdam and will join two internationally recognized research groups: the Intervention Lab led by Prof. Claudi Bockting at the Department of Psychiatry of Amsterdam UMC (www.interventionlab.nl) and the Centre for Urban Mental Health (Centre for urban mental health | Research on Mental Health).
At the Centre for Urban Mental Health, researchers from different fields work on developing and evaluating interventions that target new pathways to improve mental health in urban settings. Complex systems science is used as backbone. For example, we investigate digital and AI-based interventions, single-, and multimodal an multimodal interventions, social connection interventions, personalised interventions as well as the relationship between early life stress, the gut microbiome and and mental health conditions.
Together, these groups share a common mission using an interdisciplinary perspective: to identify new pathways that can be targeted through innovative interventions to improve mental health, while taking into account the complexity, interconnectedness, and dynamic nature of mental disorders in urban environments.
Amsterdam UMC Research BV supports scientific research on a not-for-profit basis. Through this, we provide researchers with everything they need to excel. Our principal investigators (PIs) and project leaders are supported in areas including project management, finance and human resources. For medical-scientific research projects, legal support is also provided.
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Amsterdam UMC has an open culture. This means that we hope that everyone feels welcome in our organization and that we strive to offer equal opportunities to everyone. We therefore cordially invite all interested parties to respond to this vacancy. Check out our approach to diversity and inclusion.ics of ageism, loneliness and mental
Please note that applications will be reviewed by a joint selection committee from Amsterdam UMC and the Centre for Urban Mental health. During the publication period, applications will be handled continuously. If the vacancy is filled, it will be closed prematurely.
If you have any questions about this position, please feel free to contact prof. Claudi Bockting (c.l.bockting@amsterdamumc.nl) or asst. prof. Evi-Anne van Dis via e.a.m.vandis@amsterdamumc.nl. In this role, you will also collaborate with prof. Johan Bollen from the University of Amsterdam.
Please submit your application bundled in 1 PDF file in English, including:
- A motivation letter describing your research experience, methodological expertise, and how your profile fits this position (max. 1 page).
- A full CV including a list of publications.
- Contact details of two academic references.
The closing date for applications is the 24th of July. The position starts as soon as possible.
