It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of our scholarly colleague and good friend Prof. Dr. Henk Nijman [RIP] who passed away in February 2021.
Henk was a founding member and co-chair of the European Congress on Violence in Clinical Psychiatry, positions which reflected both his status as an internationally acknowledged and widely published academic on the subject of workplace violence prevention, and his commitment to best practice.
Since 1992 Henk was a stalwart researcher investigating the causes, prevention and measurement of aggression within mental health settings, and evaluating treatment effectiveness within forensic settings. Henk obtained his PhD from the Faculty of Psychology of Maastricht University in 1999 with his thesis “Aggressive behavior of psychiatric inpatients. Measurement, prevalence, and determinants”. He held the position of professor by special appointment of forensic psychology at the Radboud University in Nijmegen since 2004, in addition to serving as principal investigator at the Aventurine Division of Altrecht Mental Health Care.
Henk’s contribution extended beyond theory, to practice and teaching. His scholarly work inspired many in the violence prevention community in fostering collaboration and positive change, and his contribution to practice will continue to enhance the care of service users to whom he was deeply committed.
Henk will be missed by all, not only for his intellect and scholarly contributions, but also for his cheerful disposition, encouragement and generosity to both accomplished and emerging researchers and clinicians.
The prize for the best abstract of the congress will now be named the ‘Henk Nijman Award’ in honour of Henk’s immeasurable contribution as founder and co-chair of this congress over many years. The best abstract will be decided by the organising committee, and the winner will receive a fee waiver for the 13th European Congress on Violence in Clinical Psychiatry to be held in 2024.