• Jamie Westenenk
• 26 years old
• Bachelor Psychology (University of Groningen)

Why did you choose this Master’s track?

During my Bachelor's, I most enjoyed the training courses that were offered to me. I have always had a great interest in group dynamics. Why do people in a certain group behave the way they do?

Whenever I saw a trainer in action, I greatly admired the way they were able to manage a group process. That is something I wanted to learn myself. I chose this Master's track to increase my knowledge and skills around guiding group processes and to discover in what way I am managing a group process myself. 

Why at the UvA?

I chose the UvA because I think this Master's track offered here is very unique: a small group approach, practical and with a lot of self-reflection. You don't easily find a university Master's track like this. 

What should students consider?

The most important thing to consider is the large amount of self-reflection. After all, as a trainer, you are also part of the group in some way. So it is important to become aware of the way you act yourself. You also get feedback from your fellow students on how they perceive you within the group and as a trainer. This is very valuable, because they get to know you quite well, since you spend a lot of time with them. As a result of this, you can also discover some blind spots from yourself and that can be quite confronting. Either way, I would say that it is definitely worth it!