Organisation Education Police Academy branch in Eindhoven gives training on ADHD and fear of failure Written on Friday, October 10, 2025 Neurodiversity is omnipresent in our society. But what if you are training to be a police officer and you suffer from fear of failure or have an ADHD diagnosis? In situations like these, students quickly turn to a study adviser for tips on dealing with their issues. The Police Academy in Eindhoven has developed an initiative that rippled and spread out, which enables students to follow specialized ADHD and fear of failure training. For students with conditions such as dyslexia, fear of failure, ADHD or ADD, police training can be challenging at times. Petra van Eijk, senior lecturer and study adviser at the Police Academy in Eindhoven, knows all about it. She says that more and more students suffer from fear of failure. ‘It’s a profession where you have to stand your ground. Students are often exposed to operational situations and look up to colleagues who already have all the knowledge and skills. During their practical training, they are in uniform while accompanying their experienced colleagues, so the public addresses them as such. This gives them the feeling that they, too, should know it all and have all the skills’, Petra says. Training on a psychological issue In their lives, people with issues like ADHD are often stigmatised, ‘While they have a lot of added value, also for the police. They have a quick mind and a helicopter view and are spontaneous and enthusiastic people. In addition, students with fear of failure are often very committed. They do an excellent job, but feel they have to able to do everything perfectly already. As a result, they have a hard time allowing themselves to make mistakes, while during the police education, making mistakes is crucial so students can learn from them’, Petra explains. Petra was asked whether a colleague who was studying for an Applied Psychology degree could take a few modules at the Police Academy. This colleague was Beau de Ridder, Operational Specialist A and a fourth-year psychology student. One of her study assignments was to give training on a psychological issue, and this led to collaboration. Beau: ‘I ended up developing and giving two different types of training: six training sessions about ADHD and six about fear of failure.’ ‘They felt secure’ ‘Based on my own course, I thought it was cool to explain to students how the brain works. It turns out, for example, that dopamine production in people with ADHD is decreased, which is the main cause of their different way of functioning. They just don’t have a neurotypical brain; their brain works in a different way in comparison to most people.’ ‘In the group of students with fear of failure, we focussed primarily on how to recognize negative convictions and how to change them to positive thoughts. What exactly am I thinking, what do I feel, what is my behaviour? And what is the outcome? Many people think that it’s the event that makes them feel anxious, but it’s the thoughts and convictions that you put upon yourself’, Beau explains. ❛❛ I felt it was important that the students could immediately apply their knowledge in practice. Beau de Ridder Initially, the training was intended for students up to Q4, because they still follow lessons at the Police Academy, but eventually it also reached students who are already doing their on-the-job training. Beau saw the students every other week. ‘I felt it was important that the students could immediately apply their knowledge in practice. As we saw each other so frequently, they also forged a bond with each other. They felt secure enough to show their emotions.’ Unknown makes unloved The students also spoke with each other outside of the classroom. ‘This is a major benefit I’ve seen’, Petra says. ‘My role involves a lot of personal counselling. But the effect of a group has a huge added value, especially spending time together, being seen and recognized and sharing advice and recommendations. Nothing is better than sharing tips from your own experience. This is why we have decided to add the training developed by Beau to our academy curriculum.’ The initiative not only reached the students, but also lecturers, and student and career counsellors. Petra says: ‘This was a very useful side effect. Colleagues would ask: ‘Do you have any tips? Are there things we can use? Can we follow the training too?’ This led to interesting and useful interactions. We then decided to arrange meetings for all those surrounding the students.’ There have already been meetings in the regions of Eastern Brabant and Limburg. ‘Often, the adage “unknown makes unloved” applies, so discussing these issues promotes background knowledge and understanding. We noticed that those who attended all had their own stories to tell, because colleagues have children, a partner, friends. Fortunately, they felt free to share their experiences, which was a good thing, because we learn from their experiences too. We could not predict that it would spread as widely as it did’, Petra concludes. Petra, Feline and Beau during one of the training sessions about ADHD. Workshops during ‘Unit in development’ day Last week, we had the ‘Unit in development’ day, where the police units and the Eindhoven branch of the Police Academy joined in various workshops. Beau gave three workshops on ADHD, together with constable Feline, who herself was diagnosed with ADHD last year. As an experiential expert she talked about the process surrounding her diagnosis. This was seen as very valuable by the lecturers, student and career counsellors and learning and development advisers present. The Police Academy is currently examining the possibilities for national roll-out of the training courses, in addition to other valuable initiatives in other police units.