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About Merel

About Merel Boas

Merel Boas studied medicine at Erasmus University Rotterdam and then trained as a psychiatrist at Maastricht University.

Since 2010 she has worked in forensic psychiatry as a psychiatrist and Pro Justitia assessor for the Netherlands Institute of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (NIFP). Since 2022 she has also supervised Pro Justitia assessments.

Alongside her forensic work, Merel spent several years in neuropsychiatry. Her work at Vesalius, in the care of people with brain injury, greatly enriched her view of psychopathology and human functioning. She also worked for a period in a gynaecology outpatient clinic, where she deepened her knowledge of how hormones influence physical, psychological and cognitive functioning.

In her work she never considers behaviour apart from the context in which it arises. Biological, psychological, relational and social factors continuously influence one another. Working from that broad approach, she focuses in particular on neuropsychiatry, women's health and complaints that are difficult to understand.

As an independent policy adviser and qualitative researcher, Merel also works on diversity, equity and psychological safety in the workplace. For the Centrale Raad van Beroep (the Dutch Central Appeals Tribunal) she carried out an extensive analysis and developed a policy plan aimed at lasting change in thinking, behaviour and organisational culture.

Positions

Opinion pieces

She wrote influential opinion pieces arguing that the label 'attention-seeking' is harmful to patients with vague or unexplained complaints such as ME/CFS and long-term post-viral fatigue (long COVID).

Vision on care

She argues that doctors must listen more carefully, let go of prejudices, and dare to make room for temporarily 'not knowing' when a complaint cannot be diagnosed immediately, without qualifying it as 'attention-seeking'.

Women's medicine

She has also spoken out about the need for greater recognition and specialisation regarding the complexity of the female body in the medical world.

Timeline

  1. 1987 – 1993Erasmiaans Gymnasium
  2. 1993 – 1994James Boswell Institute in Utrecht – partial certificates in chemistry and physics
  3. 1994 – 2001Medical degree, Erasmus University Rotterdam – medical qualification 14 December 2001
  4. 2006 – 2010Psychiatry residency, Maastricht University (now Mondriaan)
  5. 2010 – 2011Forensic psychiatric assessment training
  6. 2013Registered in the Netherlands Register of Court Experts – registration number 1208.480
  7. 2019 – 2020Supervisor training for forensic psychiatric assessments

Work history

  1. 2002 – 2003Surgical resident, Havenziekenhuis Rotterdam
  2. 2003Urology resident, IKAZIA Hospital Rotterdam
  3. 2004Urology resident, AzM Maastricht (MUMC)
  4. 2004 – 2006Psychiatry resident, Regional Mental Health Centre Weert
  5. 2006 – 2008Psychiatry resident, Mondriaan Zorggroep, Maastricht
  6. 2008Psychiatry resident, Prins Claus Centre Sittard
  7. 2008 – 2009Psychiatry resident, Mondriaan Zorggroep Heerlen (FPA)
  8. 2009Elective neurology placement, psychiatry resident AZM Maastricht
  9. 2009 – 2010Elective placement NIFP, psychiatry resident Maastricht/Roermond
  10. 2010Social placement, psychiatry resident RIAGG Roermond
  11. 2010 – 2011NIFP Amsterdam
  12. 2015 – 2016PsyQ Hilversum
  13. 2019 – 2022Vesalius Altrecht (psychiatric care for brain injury)
  14. 2022 – 2023NIFP secondment Pieter Baan Centrum
  15. 2010 – hedenNIFP Midden Nederland
  16. 2010 – hedenFreelance forensic psychiatric assessments

A critical eye from the start

When Merel was eight, she noticed in an arithmetic exercise that Bert kept receiving more than Ank. She added her explanation on the spot: probably because whoever wrote the sums was a man. An eye for perspective, bias and the position of women evidently started early.

“Bert always gets more than Ank, probably because the designer of these sums is of the male sex.”