Niclas Almén

I am particularly interested in teaching in a way that gives students a deeper understanding of central psychological concepts and the ability to see the relevance of psychology in many different contexts. It is essential that psychology is understood theoretically and can be applied practically and that students gain knowledge and skills to analyze and influence societal challenges.

I aim to offer engaging courses where theory is interspersed with practice, with a varied pedagogy and elements of active learning. Despite over twenty years of experience as a college/university teacher, I constantly strive to develop as an educator.

My research is in work/organizational psychology and health psychology, focusing on stress and recovery. I am incredibly interested in theory and intervention development and the interaction between the individual and the context.

A concrete example is the development and evaluation of the CBT-based program BRIGHT-recovery (also called Balans i vardagen), which has shown strong effects on stress levels, recovery capacity, and mental well-being. I have also further developed the established measurement instrument Recovery Experience Questionnaire to better capture recovery processes in different contexts.

A current research project is BRIM-55 (Behavioral Recovery Intervention for Myocardial Infarction Patients before the age of 55), which is being carried out in collaboration with researchers at Uppsala University. BRIGHT-recovery is being evaluated in a new target group with new outcome measures.

I am also involved in E-PABS (A Center of Excellence in Physical Activity, Healthy Brain Functions, and Sustainability; www.gih.se/hjarnhalsa), an interdisciplinary research center that collaborates closely with stakeholders in business, the school sector, and healthcare. We are currently planning for new organizational psychology studies within the center's framework.

Collaboration with the surrounding society has always been important to me because, in my opinion, academia should be an integrated part of society – not an isolated within it. Knowledge should be helpful, too, and contact with different social actors provides valuable insights that can enrich research.

Collaboration also strengthens teaching, as it adds concrete perspectives and relevance. It also helps me, as a researcher, to formulate results in a way that makes them understandable and applicable in practice. The intersection between theory and practice stimulates me.