Josina Maria "Jozien" Bensing (born 12 March 1950) is a Dutch clinical psychologist. Bensing was director of the (NIVEL) between 1985 and 2008. Since 1993, she has been a professor of clinical and healthcare psychology at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

. Bensing was a winner of the 2006

Spinoza Prize The Spinoza Prize () is an annual award of 1.5 million euro prize money, to be spent on new research given by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The award is the highest scientific award in the Netherlands. It is named after the philosopher Baruc ...

Career

Bensing was born on 12 March 1950 in

Tilburg Tilburg () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. With a population of 22 ...

. She studied clinical psychology at

. Bensing obtained a PhD at the

Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus University Rotterdam ( ; abbreviated as EUR) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century Christian humanist and theologian. Erasmus M ...

in 1991, her thesis was titled: "Doctor-patient communication and the quality of care. An observation study into affective and instrumental behavior in general practice". In 1974, Bensing started as a researcher at the Dutch Institute for General Practice (Dutch: Nederlands Huisartsen Instituut). Two years later she became leader of the project "Psycho social care in general practice". She kept this position for two a further two years and in 1979 became the head of the research department. In 1984, she became acting director. The next year the Dutch Institute for General Practice became the (NIVEL) and Bensing became the director. She served in this position until 2008 and then continued as an honorary research fellow. Apart from her work at NIVEL Bensing has been a professor of clinical psychology and healthcare psychology at Utrecht University since 1993. Between 1996 and 1998, she served as dean of the faculty. Bensing's research has focused on the role of communication in doctor-patient relations. Her research also has links to the

placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...

effect. She has done research on large quantities of video recorded conversations between doctors and patients and has built a database of over 16,000 entries.

Awards and honours

Bensing was awarded the George Engel Award by the American Academy on Physician and Patients in 2003, and was the first non-American to obtain it. In 2006, she was one of four winners of the Dutch

and received a 1.5 million euro grant. The awarding commission cited her "multidisciplinary research into the communication between doctors and patients, and her internationally used research method for quantifying non-verbal communication". Bensing was elected a member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

in 2007. In 2004, Bensing was named an Officer in the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

. In 2015 she was made a Knight in the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

References

External links

Profile on Utrecht University website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bensing, Jozien 1950 births Living people Clinical psychologists Dutch psychologists Dutch women psychologists Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau People from Tilburg Spinoza Prize winners Utrecht University alumni Academic staff of Utrecht University