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