During the Middle Ages, a unique system of community care for the mentally ill began in Geel, a small Belgian community. Though the system has evolved and continued into modern times, in 1962 a warning cry concerning the future of Geel was sounded in an American Journal of Psychiatry article and this led to a ten year, multi-disciplinary, international "Geel Research Project" designed to examine the Geel system and community. A report at the close of the project expressed concern that the Geel system couldn't survive much beyond 1980, but this unique system continues today, under the direction of the Belgian Ministry of Health. At the end of 2000, Geel, with a population of approximately 33,000, housed 537 boarders in the homes of 435 care-taking families. Geel has current value as a community case study, offering the opportunity to develop insights into how to assist those with SMI who may be particularly vulnerable to social factors. For example, social acceptance of the mentally ill is at the core of Geel's legacy, thus attenuating the road block of a "mental illness stigma." Also, though the boarder population has been as high as 3,800, the town of Geel has never had extraordinary problems with violent behavior by their boarders. Several factors have been identified, in a clinical and historical context, which may contribute to Geel's success and it is entirely possible that, with education and imaginative planning, some of these same factors could be replicated in diverse settings. See www.family-care.org
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session the participant will be: 1) Familiar with the history and current status of a unique centuries old system of community mental health care that operates even today in Geel, Belgium. 2)Able to recognize factors that have probably allowed the Geel system to evolve and survive for over 700 years. 3)Prepared to develop treatment and education programs in their own community that seek to replicate, or integrate, some of those factors.
Keywords: Mental Illness, Community Participation
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.