Rate My Professor Anke Liefbroer

Anke Liefbroer is Professor by special appointment in the Interconnection of Psychiatry and Theology at the Tilburg School of Catholic Theology, Tilburg University, holding the endowed Octavia van Breemen Chair since October 1, 2024, for a five-year term. She concurrently serves as Associate Professor of Psychology of Religion and Spiritual Care since 2022 and Program Coordinator for the Master's programs in Theology and Spiritual Care. Previously, she held positions as assistant professor of psychology of religion at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Tilburg School of Catholic Theology, postdoctoral researcher, and university lecturer. Liefbroer earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Psychology and Clinical Psychology from the University of Groningen, a Master’s in Religion and Identity in the Modern World from the University of Amsterdam, and her PhD from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2020, where her dissertation examined interfaith spiritual care from a Christian perspective, including the role of religious and worldview differences in practice.

Her research specializes in meaning-making processes and their relationship to mental well-being, particularly in secularized societies, alongside empirical studies on spiritual care interventions, chaplaincy education, spiritual caregivers' roles and competencies, and fundamentalism. She developed the dialogue model 'In Dialogue with Your Life Story' for spiritual care in home-based palliative settings, demonstrating enhanced spiritual well-being among patients. Key publications include her inaugural lecture "Met je ziel onder je arm? Zingeving en mentaal welzijn in een geseculariseerde samenleving" (2025), "Opening up the black box of chaplaincy: a qualitative study into the reported workings of a narrative and interfaith spiritual care intervention in palliative care at home" (2025, Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, with Foppen et al.), "Mapping the concept of fundamentalism: a scoping review" (2025, Politics and Religion, with Kindermann et al.), and "The Fundamentalism Matrix: A Tool for Defining, Mapping, and Operationalizing Fundamentalism" (2025, Oxford University Press chapter). Liefbroer was named Teacher of the Year 2023 at Tilburg University and selected as a national finalist. She teaches courses including Sociology and Psychology of Religion, Master's Thesis Spiritual Care, and Religion and Psychopathology, bridging theory, research, and professional practice. She leads a research group on meaning-making and mental well-being.