Over 315,000 people have used Belgium's new conventional psychological care
Since 1 September 2021, 315,935 people in Belgium have found their way to a conventional psychologist or educational psychologist in primary care. Minister of health Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) reported this after the figures were published on the mental health dashboard of the Intermutualist Agency. "This shows that the new agreement is achieving its goal," he said.
In September 2021, Belgium's mental health reform came into full effect. Vandenbroucke calls this "an unprecedented investment to make mental health care much more accessible and affordable, but also a real system change, both in the approach and in the way we deliver our mental health care".
Accessibility
Under the new agreement, people with mental health problems who need professional help will be able to see a conventional psychologist or educational psychologist. This can be done in a practice, but also outside the walls of a practice, such as at the family doctor's office, at school, in an OverKop house (a subsidised organisation that offers safe meeting places), at the Public Centre for Social Healthcare (OCMW) or in prison. The first session is free of charge. From the second session, adults pay a co-payment of 11 euros per individual session, or 4 euros if they are entitled to an increased allowance. Group sessions cost 2.5 euros. Young people under the age of 24 can benefit from this offer free of charge.
In Belgium, 315,935 people have already taken advantage of this offer: 108,348 young people and 207,587 adults.
"I am very pleased with the figures we are able to present," says Vandenbroucke. "The aim was to make access to mental health care as accessible as possible. We now see that important steps are being taken. People are finding their way to care and, conversely, care is becoming increasingly local and close to where adults, children and young people live".
#FlandersNewsService | © IMAGEBROKER
Related news
