Mental health care has found itself in a changing context in recent years. Great strides have been made, especially with regard to awareness. Psychological problems are taken seriously and the treatment trajectories are increasingly tailor-made and in consultation.
Fortunately, mental wellbeing and psychotherapy are increasingly being removed from the taboo sphere. “It can be discussed and that makes the help more tailor-made. People wait less long to seek help and that results more than in the past in appropriate treatment without the need for admission,” says Jochen Van den Steen, general director of the Gent-Sleidinge psychiatric center. “Mental health care is and remains a complex issue, but by working proactively we can in the future encourage the alignment of the broader treatment modalities not only to be seen in a residential context. This gives room to think in what form we can use the current bed capacity in a variety of ways, in line with the needs of the patient and his environment. The location is subordinated to the treatment, which is a new way of thinking.”
Adviser Raoul De Cuyper confirms: “The residential supply is over-demanded, not only as a result of the increasing demand, but also due to a sub-optimal utilization of treatment options in line with demand at an early stage. There is too little connection to the ambulatory and the own environment. This must change in the future through the proactive deployment of specialized care. Early detection is essential. The big difference with somatic medicine and mental health care is that the symptoms in the latter group are less predictable and more linked to life stages and context. If we are there early and can offer optimal help, that opens up prospects for recovery.”
Residential admission is no longer the only solution for a treatment course.
So prevention is better than cure. “Many problems are present at a young age, recognizable and treatable,” says Van den Steen. “The chances of a positive healing process are therefore much greater. As a sector, we have to work together so that complex problems are properly tackled, across all sectors, with the patient and the environment. A recording is no longer the only solution. We see a shift towards a care process in which it is possible to switch smoothly between ambulatory and residential services.”
Within society, different actors are needed to cope with mental problems. De Cuyper: “Family and friends, the GP or even the community center can play a decisive role in breaking a pattern. Patients often come from a problem of financial problems, a homeless situation, alcohol or drug problems, unemployment and subsequent comorbidity with somatic problems. A vicious circle that must be broken through diversified treatment and support.”
Van de Steen concludes that the focus on awareness has increased. “In the past, mental health care was all too often a marginal item in society. Better awareness results in a better society. Mental problems are discussed. Also within politics, work is being done on affordable and accessible mental health care. That allows more people to get the right treatment quickly. A very positive signal.”