DREAMS is a brand-new initiative of four large academic child and adolescent psychiatry centers in the Netherlands.

As of this year, de Bascule (Amsterdam UMC), Curium (Leiden UMC), Karakter (Nijmegen UMC), and Accare (Groningen UMC) join forces to improve care and research in child and adolescent psychiatry.

The project leader of DREAMS is APH researcher Tinca Polderman (assistent professor at Vrije Universiteit). She has a PhD in Biological Psychology with a main interest in genetic and environmental influences that shape human behavior. Focus of her research is on ADHD, Autism, and comorbidity across psychiatric conditions. With DREAMS she hopes to build a harmonized database and bio-bank to advance scientific research into child and adolescent mental health. The general aim of DREAMS will be obtaining insights into factors that impact the course and development of mental problems in youth.

Tinca Polderman: “Two DREAMS projects have already started. In a first study, we examine the effects of the COVID-19 restrictions on the child and adolescent psychiatric population. We hypothesize that for some children the lockdown may be a burden, while for others it may be a blessing. In this study, DREAMS collaborates with Jeugdzorg to compare data with another clinical sample. In addition, the Netherlands Twin Register and KLIK are involved, to allow comparison of results with samples from the general population.

A second study provides an outline of the current landscape of child and adolescent psychiatry in the Netherlands. We use data from the four centers of DREAMS to provide an overview of available demographics, DSM classifications, health measures, type of treatment, and medication use.”

In DREAMS a variety of junior and senior researchers of all four centers are involved. Anyone who is interested in collaboration, internships or specific research questions is welcome to contact Tinca Polderman: tinca.polderman@amsterdamumc.nl