Mariska Klein Velderman
“I get inspired when people dare to look beyond boundaries, and realize to find shared goals and directions. My motivation is to build bridges together, and clear gaps between different stakeholders and perspectives.”
Research area
Mariska Klein Velderman - PhD in child and family studies - has been working as a researcher at the Department of Child Health since 2006. Mariska is project leader of the TNO ‘Resilient Youth and Parenting’ knowledge program, focusing on (co-)development, evaluation and implementation of knowledge and methods contributing to youth (mental) health, (emotional) safety and (equal) opportunities. Her research projects are always in cooperation with professionals, parents, youth and relevant companies and stakeholders. Main subjects in Mariska’s work: preventive child and family support, evidence-based interventions, resilience, mental health, parenting, divorce.
Family relations
Family relations and separation (divorce) are recurring themes in Mariska’s work. She is one of the initiators of the learning network ‘Child and Complex Parent Relationships’ and has gained extensive experience in design-oriented/action research to support families after divorce (or separation) over the past 15 years. This resulted in, among other things, the validated effective preventive group training Tough Turtles and Courageous Dinosaurs for young children after divorce of their parents, and Divorce ATLAS for parents about parenting after divorce, two practical books for teenagers and parents, and two prestigious ZonMw pearl awards (2013, 2021) for the socially impactful work in this field. She participates in various projects and networks around this theme.
Leiden - Sylviusweg
Sylviusweg 71
2333 BE Leiden
The Netherlands