A short summary of Melanie's research: 

As a social worker, I really enjoyed working with older persons as a client system. I also thought that older persons are almost like the "forgotten generation" and that they don't get enough recognition. People live longer and I wanted to understand what it is to be living in a residential facility for older persons, especially if there are symptoms as loneliness and depression present. My interest in the field led to a term "emotional poverty" which I belief many older persons are experiencing. So I decided to interview older persons and social workers to get their perceptions on emotional poverty from a Biopsychosocial perspective

Research for Impact is one of the core strategic themes in SU`s Vision 2040. Can you describe the (potential) impact of your research?

The goal of this study was to gain an understanding of a biopsychosocial perspective on social work intervention to address the emotional poverty of older persons in residential facilities. I wanted to understand what older persons feel and are experiencing in order to improve services to this vulnerable group. The impact of the study was to emphasise the importance of social workers to assist older persons in residential facilities to strive for high levels of gerotranscendence (the natural progression towards maturation and wisdom) as well as their important role in the multidisciplinary team to combat emotional poverty.

In the ever-changing environment of academia, what are some of the obstacles postdoctoral researchers are faced with?

I think what is lacking sometimes is acknowledgement that you are good enough to do your postdoctoral studies and that you are almost like a colleague and would like to have that recognition.

What would you regard as the most important aspects to consider to effectively support postdoctoral researchers?

The most important aspects are acknowledgement of your PhD dissertation and degree. It is really a big achievement and sometimes it feels a bit unreal. Invitations to meetings in the specific Department would help to realise where do you as a postdoctoral fellow fit in and make you feel like a member of staff in a way.

What excites you about your work? 

Learning more about a client system I am very fond of and also seeing how theory fits into practice and how you can't have the one without the other. I it also very exciting to read about other researchers' work on the same topic or similar topic as myself.

When you're not in the lab, library or in the field conducting research, what do you do to unwind?

Walking or hiking with my dog or attending classes at the gym. Reading a nice book and listening to music.

How has the postdoctoral researcher programme of SU contributed to your research career? 

It definitely motivated me to write articles on my thesis. I would not have had the discipline and motivation to write the articles and hopefully publish them without this support. If felt to me like someone believes in me and that my work is good enough to be published.

What advice, if any, would you look to impart to future postdoctoral researchers?

Start writing your articles as soon as you completed your doctoral oral examination. Also to not settle for only one or two articles. There are usually at least four articles to be written on one thesis.

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