Dr Anna Terruwe Fund

As an innovative psychiatrist, Dr Anna Terruwe developed the theory of affirmation. Her premise was that only through authentic contact can a person grow to become someone with a healthy sense of self-esteem. It is a vision that continues to inspire.

Anna Terruwe (1911-2004) established herself as a psychiatrist in Nijmegen in September 1945. In her practice, she concentrated on psychotherapy, a specialism that was developing rapidly in the post-war Netherlands. Through contact with patients, she developed affirmation as a central principle in treatment. Her premise was that someone could only develop into a human being with a healthy sense of self-esteem through deeply human, genuine encounters with others. If people meet each other with respect and without expecting anything in return, they will then experience each other and themselves as good and valuable people. anna_terruwe

The Dr Anna Terruwe Fund, a Named Fund within the Radboud Fund, seeks to enable the philosophy of Dr Anna Terruwe to live on, to gain attention and to be translated into a current scientific and societal context.

To achieve this, the Anna Terruwe Fund supports activities including research, education and related social services in the field of mental health. These are activities within or on behalf of Radboud University and/or Radboud university medical center that correspond to the philosophy of Dr Anna Terruwe and build on this in today’s context.

Grants awarded in 2023

In 2023, the fund awarded one PhD grant and three project grants:

Maartje Roodzant is starting her PhD research within the Faculty of Arts: The manifestations and functions of affirmation in digital and in-person mental health care: An interaction analytic study. Digital resources (chats, apps, video calls, etc.) are increasingly used within mental health services. The aim of the research is to understand the impact that digital counselling and psychotherapy have on conveying emotions and affirmation. The results of this project will be incorporated into training courses and tools for professionals to improve communication skills and the ability to build an effective therapeutic relationship.

Over the past decade, the practice of mindfulness has boomed in the Netherlands and other European countries. This growth is primarily based on secular mindfulness training, supported by its scientifically proven effects. There is a growing need for weekly and weekend retreats to deepen and broaden the practice of mindfulness in both practical and theoretical terms.
The Radboudumc Centre for Mindfulness is in receipt of a project grant for an ‘Exploration of the content and context of a contemporary retreat centre’.

Johan Karremans, Professor of Social Psychology of Interpersonal Relationships, and Esther Kluwer, Endowed Professor of Sustainable Relationships and Wellbeing, both within the Behavioural Science Institute at Radboud University, are in receipt of a project grant to set up a ‘Knowledge Network on Relationships and Separation’. With this knowledge network, they will bring together scholars and professionals in the field of partner relationships and separation. The aim of the network is to bridge the gap between science and practice, improve information exchange and collaboration, and provide a knowledge hub for societal stakeholders such as journalists, policymakers and the general public.

In clinical practice, Assistant Professor Leentje Vervoort and Associate Professor Anouk Scheres, both psychologists and researchers at the Behavioural Science Institute at Radboud University, often see that people with ADHD symptoms are not (or no longer) in touch with themselves. They do not listen to their inner compass and no longer respond to their own physical signals and emotions. This has long-term implications because these signals are vital indicators of our limits, needs and passions. With help in the form of a grant for their project Who am I? ADHD and identity: hearing stories of experiences and letting them be heard, they are strengthening the scientific basis for the role that identity, need awareness, need fulfilment and emotional awareness play in ADHD.

Want to apply for a grant?

Project grants and other grants from the Anna Terruwe Fund are made available to researchers, students, teaching staff, policy officers and professionals in the mental health or social services sectors.
All applications must have a consortium leader who works at Radboud University or Radboud university medical center. This person is responsible for progress and reports on this to the advisory committee at agreed times.
The Anna Terruwe Fund encourages collaboration with other universities, practical institutions and other stakeholders. In applications involving multiple parties, the way in which the project is institutionally anchored within Radboud University and/or Radboud university medical center must be clearly indicated.
In each grant round, there is budget available for up to 1 PhD or AGIKO grant or 1 postdoc grant of €250,000 and 3 project grants of up to €25,000 each.
The Anna Terruwe Fund awards grants via calls for applications. It is not possible to apply outside these calls.
The first call was published in autumn 2023, the second in autumn 2024 and the final call has yet to be scheduled.
Read the full Grant Regulations here (pdf, 235 kB).
To submit an application, use the application forms below:

Timetable for 2024 call

Deadline for submission of applications: 10 December 2024
Assessment by advisory committee: mid-December 2024
Feedback to applicants: end of December 2024
Interviews with grant candidates: mid-January 2025
Decision and formal award: mid-February 2025
Latest start date: September 2025

The work of Dr Anna Terruwe

Through numerous publications, Anna Terruwe sought to systematise the operation of affirmation as a therapeutic principle into a doctrine. Her insights fit within broader developments in post-war psychiatry and psychology. Her philosophy continues to be relevant in the wide range of current issues troubling (young) people in today’s digital age: contact with others, self-esteem and authenticity.

You can read more in Dutch about Anna Terruwe’s theory in the following chapters of Bevindingen - Erfdeel en opdracht:

Also read this article in Dutch on the website of the Dr Anna Terruwe Foundation or the booklet Het Millennial Manifest, published by Uitgeverij Valkhof Pers, ISBN 978 90 5625 486 5

Want more information?

If so, please contact Lisette Pals: lisette.pals@ru.nl or 06 527 54 659.