Esther Mertens

Dr. Esther Mertens is a Senior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute (MPI), focusing on technological applications in mental health and behavioral intervention programs. Her work emphasizes innovative uses of smartphone applications and Virtual Reality (VR) to enhance intervention efficacy. She earned her PhD from Utrecht University in 2021 and later contributed to the FutureU project at Leiden University, which developed scalable interventions to improve future-orientation in offenders by connecting them to their future selves. In April 2024, she joined MPI to continue specializing in technology-driven mental health interventions.