Dr S Visser (b. 1955) has been appointed to the extraordinary chair of The Professional Training in Health Care Psychology at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences of the Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA). The chair has been endowed by Stichting Postdoctorale Beroepsopleidingen/GGZ Amsterdam (society for postgraduate training/mental health care Amsterdam).

The holder of the chair is the chief tutor of the programme in health care psychology and is responsible for the organisation and realisation of the programme. As chief tutor, Dr Visser will also be responsible for the academic quality of the programme, in particular for translating academic knowledge into practical action, as expressed for example in evidence-based practice guidelines. Furthermore, he will be responsible for the educational quality of the programme.

Sako Visser studied Clinical Psychology at the University of Groningen and was employed at, among other places, the University of Groningen, Groningen University Hospital and during the last few years at GGZ-Buitenamstel/Vumc (mental health care Buitenamstel/Free University medical centre) in Amsterdam. He obtained his PhD degree on assessment and treatment of hypochondria in 2000 and conducted research in the field of anxiety disorders and somatoform disorders.

Dr Visser has been editor of the journal Gedragstherapie (behavioural therapy) since 2003. Besides his professorship Sako Visser will remain employed at GGZ-Buitenamstel/Vumc as manager in care and as psychotherapist. He will also be occupying himself with research in the field of health care psychology.