A conversation with Treesje

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I’m a Kiwi, born to parents who immigrated to New Zealand from the Netherlands and the Cook Islands in the early 1950s. They arrived with little, spoke no English, and ambient prejudice and discrimination was persistent in everyday life. That said, tight-knit work communities, native food traditions, and an extreme work ethic were motivated by survival. This frames my upbringing and influences on decisions, getting me to where I am today.

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I spent over 25 years working in the Microsoft ecosystem but my longstanding passion was psychology. Alongside my corporate career, I founded Blindspot Clinic, a small therapeutic community, and completed a part-time psychology degree, graduating with honours in 2007.

By January 2020, three factors aligned that pushed me to fully change careers: my son had completed his education; Blindspot was ready to evolve; and I had just graduated from King’s MSc in Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health (PNoMH). The programme also inspired the Applied Neuroscience Association (ANA) in 2022; a global professional body focused on applied neuroscience, with many King’s students and alumni involved as members.

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My parents had limited access to formal education due to war, systemic reasons, and financial barriers. Neither had a genuine choice regarding formal education and the cost of university in New Zealand made it prohibitive for anyone in my family of four to attend. Within this context, having a good education means not taking for granted the opportunity to have studied as a mature student. It means gaining recognised credentials that give me an academic identity and a means to contribute to society through my entrepreneurial efforts, plus a keen motivation for lifelong learning.

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I faced four main challenges:

• Cognitive: sustaining the intellectual demands of postgraduate study
• Academic: navigating formal academic structures and expectations
• Developmental: exploring 'who am I' as a mature student and overcoming a lack of confidence
• Personal: Sadly, my mother passed away mid-way through the programme, and my father fell ill from a broken heart and passed away 7 months following the programme.

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Earning an MSc taught me that I am capable of sustained effort and seeing it through! It taught me I can combine quite tough intellectual effort with tight work and time constraints; grow confidence in uncertainty and ambiguity; and navigate new intellectual systems, communities, and ways of belonging within them.

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I chose this programme because it was a natural next step from my psychology undergraduate degree. Psychology explains theories of mind and behaviour, and PNoMH explains the underlying brain mechanisms and their implications for mental health and the intervention needed to inform practice. This included making sense of scientific evidence and how to start thinking and communicating like a researcher.

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ANA’s academic and scientific foundations are deeply rooted in the PNoMH and Applied Neuroscience programmes, with its founder, inaugural members, chapter heads, and members of the advisory board all made up from the programmes’ student body, faculty, and alumni of King’s, King's IoPPN, and King’s Entrepreneurship Institute (EI).

ANA’s vision was validated by its selection for the King’s EI Accelerator Programme in 2022–23. Over the course of the Accelerator year, ANA was in its early stages of growth. Now entering its establishment phase, King's provides the opportunity for supportive affiliations through various channels, including collaborations to encourage the translation of neuroscience knowledge into accessible formats for public engagement.

There are many people to thank on this journey including the PNoMH programme leads and lecturers, my supervisor, King's EI leaders, students, and alumni who were early adopters of the idea of ANA.

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Yes, earning an MSc is worth it! Not just for the qualification itself, but for the depth of learning and consolidation it allows. In my case, it provided the inspiration, intellectual grounding, credibility, and structure needed to move from interest to application, and from ideas to action.

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See the programme as an intellectual ecosystem, not just a credential. Expect uncertainty; it’s part of the process, not a sign of incapacity. Protect your study time, ask questions, and stay connected with peers and tutors (I wish I’d done this more!). Learning is as social as it is intellectual, and sharing any worries supports your progression.

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Treesje’s story shows that education is not just about acquiring knowledge; it’s about transformation. Despite personal loss and the challenges of returning to study later in life, she has used her degree to drive meaningful social impact through the Applied Neuroscience Association and the Blindspot Clinic.

If you’re ready to explore the mechanisms of the mind and discover where a deeper understanding of neuroscience could take you, learn more about our online Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health MSc.

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