In 2011, the King Baudouin Foundation, on behalf of their Queen Fabiola and Julie Renson funds, organized a series of three stakeholder gatherings to examine the potential of the first line health care to contribute to a more effective mental health care system in Belgium.

The three gatherings focused on requisite first line competencies, the role of the general practitioner and the contribution of psychiatric home care, respectively.

shiftN was asked to organize focus groups and interviews with care givers and people suffering from mental health challenges to better understand their experiences with first line care. This input was also the basis for a series of policy and organizational recommendations that were offered as input to the stakeholder gatherings. In order to respect patients’ voices and privacy, an audiovisual presentation was made that captured patients’ real world testimonies in a discrete and sensitive way.

The project was led by Kim Becher, assisted by Philippe Vandenbroeck, Rachel Dechenne and Jo Goossens.