Willem Kuyken
Willem Kuyken is a British/Dutch scientist, teacher and author. He is the Ritblat Professor of Mindfulness and Psychological Science at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, and Director of the University of Oxford Mindfulness Centre. Early life and education Kuyken was born in Neath, Wales, the youngest of three children, to Dutch parents. His father was raised in Indonesia where, during World War II, he was interned in a Japanese concentration camp. Kuyken's uncle and namesake died in the camp aged four. His mother was raised in Venlo in the South of Holland, where she lived under Nazi occupation. He spent his childhood in Africa, where his father was working as an engineer. Kuyken was educated at Winchester College, University College London and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, before training as a clinical psychologist at the Salomons Clinical Psychology Training Centre. Career and contributions Before taking up his post in Oxford in 2014 he was Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Exeter. He headed the research group (2001–2010), co-founded (with Ed Watkins and Eugene Mullan) the Wellcome Mood Disorders Centre (2004) and (with Alison Evans) the Masters in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapies (2008) and Mindfulness Network. (2012). He also directed the clinical psychology training programme (2001–2004). He worked in two Postdoctoral Fellowships: a research fellowship at the World Health Organization project managing the development of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment (WHOQOL; 1992–1994) and a clinical research fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania/Beck Institute working with Aaron T. Beck (1998–1999). He was the recipient of the British Psychological Society May Davidson award in 2006. He was a faculty member of the 2014 Mind and Life Summer Research Science Institute and a grandfathered Diplomate and Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. The Institute for Scientific Information Web of Science named Kuyken one of their most cited researchers in 2019, 2020 and 2021. At the University of Oxford Kuyken co-led (with Mark Williams, Sarah-Jayne Blakemore and Tim Dalgleish) a programme of research on mindfulness in education – the MYRIAD project (2014–2022), and is Principal Investigator of the University of Oxford Mindfulness Research Centre. Kuyken has co-authored three books. (1) With Christina Feldman, Mindfulness - Ancient Wisdom Meetings Modern Psychology, described by Jon Kabat-Zinn as "A tour de force. This book elaborates in exquisite detail--yet with utter accessibility and clarity--what mindfulness is and where it comes from, as well as its profound ethical foundation, clinical applications, growing evidence base, and potential for healing. The depth of the case studies alone exemplifies the elemental wisdom inherent to the practice of mindfulness, and how it can be applied in trying and challenging life situations to beneficial effect.." in 2009 he published with Christine Padesky and Rob Dudley, Collaborative Case Conceptualisation, described by Aaron T Beck as setting "a gold standard for how to develop individualized case conceptualizations with our clients." With John Orley he published an edited book Quality of Life Assessment: International Perspectives. Kuyken's work