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Updated: Feb 21, 2023
We are very happy to announce that the 6th Conference on Assertive Outreach (EAOF 2023) will take place in Leuven, Belgium from Wednesday 20 September until Friday 22 September 2023. The theme of this three-day international event in the beautiful city of Leuven is
Implementation of community mental health services: making it happen!
An international group of excellent speakers will provide examples of a state-of-the art of building up of community services in different countries. We choose this specific theme, since many of us struggle with the implementation of recovery-focused community mental health services, including collaboration between medical/psychiatric and social services as well as involving significant others in the treatment process. During the conference, in workshops and symposia you will be able to discuss these issues and processes needed to effectively (re)allocate resources in order to implement better mental health and social services for all. The presentations about implementing a public-health approach in deinstitutionalizing mental health care as well as implementation of community mental health services will be based on scientific evidence, professional knowledge and experience, as well as knowledge based on peer expertise. You are cordially invited to come to Belgium, where mental healthcare is being deinstitutionalized and community services are built up in high speed. The conference will take place in the beautiful city of Leuven, home of the KU Leuven (founded in 1425), and also home to several clinical innovative interventions for people with mental disorders.
Submit your abstract now!
The scientific committee of the 6th Conference on Assertive Outreach invites you to submit abstracts for an oral presentation, a poster presentation, a symposium and/or a workshop, focusing on a wide variety of topics:
► Deinstitutionalization ► Outpatient care ► Recovery ► Digital Psychiatry
► Child & Adolescent psychiatry in community care ► Forensic outpatient care ► Community care evaluation ► Prevention
► Mental health – nursing at home ► Psychological interventions in the outpatient setting ► Peer support ► Integrated care and Collaboration between mental health and other services ► Other related topics
Important deadlines
► 19 March 2023 - Deadline abstract submission ► 15 May 2023 - Notification of acceptance ► 5 June 2023 - Author registration deadline ► 18 June 2023 - Early bird registration deadline ► 20 - 22 September 2023 - EAOF 2023 Conference
Interested in receiving information about the EAOF 2023 conference? Please add your personal data to the mailing list by subscribing below.
We look forward to welcoming you in Leuven, Belgium in 2023! The EAOF 2023 Organising Committee
Updated: Nov 15, 2022
Brief report and highlights
NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CARE MODEL TRAINING
On 4th and 5th of October 2022, The CARe Academy organized specialized follow up Model CARe training to support CARe trainers, CARe coaches and auditors in their professional practice, to embrace the strengths of The CARe Network and keep good quality of Model CARe practice.
The training took place in the beautiful city of Split, Croatia, which offer a lot of opportunities to be inspired by lovely atmosphere and rich history of the city. We are very delighted, that we could welcome 35 experienced CARe traines, CARe coaches and auditors from 6 countries across the Europe and Asia.
On day 1 we have focused mainly on sharing experiences with the CARe Model trainings, dived into new developments in model CARe and explored and experience using different creative tools to support recovery in several workshops.
Jean-Pierre Wilken and Dirk den Hollander introduced new developments in the CARe Model, highlighted the importance of CARe principles, relationship building, experiential knowledge and working with the community.
Juraj Marendiak, Radmila Stojanovic Babic, Aster Tooma, Triin Vana and Jana Pluhaříková Pomajzlová created in very nice and creative atmosphere a “training tips and tricks market”. So many wonderful training tools were shared and experienced and, in the end, we had a wall full of ideas and proved training tools for practice. We will continue with this idea and already started to create with the trainers a practice toolbox for CARe trainings😊
Marlie van de Berg introduced the Yucel method and together with Jana Pluhaříková Pomajzlová lead the online Yucel method workshop “building on recovery”. We were very happy that Marlie could participate and bring new inspiration to support recovery.
Dirk den Hollander and Michal Kašpar lead the workshop “Using the art of music and theatre for an expression of recovery journey”, empowering, personal deep experience guided by lyrics, personal recovery songs and creating lived sculptures.
Juraj Marendiak and Ludmila Horynová prepared in exterier of the venue wonderfull, sensitive and very personal workshop “Using the art and creativity for an expression of recovery journey”. The environment and used personal creative tools made the workshop very special. In the end of the workshop the artwork was introduced to all participants, very touching experience.
Aster Tooma introduced “Using dance and movement for an expression of recovery journey” and created together with the participants empowering, personal, expressive dance of CARe trainers, which we could not only see in the end of the workshop, but also dance and experience all together. Wonderfull closing of intensive first day.
Day 2 was dedicated mainly to the topic of The Model CARe implementation in different contexts and the importance of experiential knowledge, peer work and the support of family and loved ones.
Kadi Roosipu, Karin Hanga, Külli Mae and Triin Vana shared their experiences with the “Implementation CARe Model and ICF (International Classification of Functioning) in the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund's”. Such an extensive, systematic, and rich experience, very inspiring and many common topics for further elaboration were pointed out.
Ludmila Horynová, Juraj Marendiak and Jana Pluhaříková Pomajzlová introduced a painted river as a stream of the experiences with implementation of CARe model in The Czech Republic. Very special, personal and touching story about wonderfull joint cooperation and system change in the organization.
We have elaborated on the topic of implementation further in workshops and shared a lot of inspiration and practice. Many similarities and also important questions rised up.
In the afternoon Riina Järve-Tammiste brought very important topic in the workshop “Experiences from Recovery Learning Community Pool&looP, how to support families and friends”. She shared with us, how to use CARe to support recovery of families and we could touch a piece of her work in very personal deep exercise meeting our values and difficult times we are overcoming.
Zdeněk Císař and Jeannet Achterstraat prepared excellent workshop "Experiential knowledge and its importance in our practice and in our trainings – how we cooperate with peers in our trainings and implementation process". With personal, professional and peer expertise very special, important and touching workshop. It proved, that even though we are from different countries in recovery process we are closer than we might mean.
The CARe Academy will follow up the topics and highlited questions from all workshops in next year in the online workshops and webinars, thus it was so inspiring, that definitely we want to continue and to support CARe trainers, coaches and auditors as well as larger CARe Network community.
We would like to thank to Multimedijalni Kulturni Centar, Split, which kindly contributed to the realization of the training in its space. Many thanks also belong to the organizations Association for psychosocial assistance SUSRET and Association for promoting mental health PHOENIX SPLIT, which brought a lot of personal initiative and effort and helped with the organization and coordination of practical issues connected with the training. The training would not happen without the sponsorship of The CARe Network, so many thanks belong also to the whole organizational team and the CARe Academy trainers’ team, who did tremendous work to prepare and hold the training.
In CARe we have one principle: “never do the things alone!” We could experience the wisdom of this quote within the preparations and training itself and we are very grateful for such a great, enthusiastic, initiative team of trainers, without teamwork and participation from all the training would never happen. It was proved again; how much important it is to create joint space to meet and share experiences and to support continual professional growth and development.
Special thanks belong to all CARe trainers, coaches and auditors, who participated in the training and create beautiful, inspirational, supportive atmosphere. Many of our CARe trainers were also invited to take active part in the program and held a presentation or a workshop. We are persuaded, that this was one of important factor which made the event so special and rich. Other factor which made the trainings so special was the creativity, openness, diversity, and richness of the experiences from different countries, willingness to participate and be involved, friendships, professional mutuality and personal interest in all what we did.
We could experience deep mutual connection and understanding, empowering, and energizing for all. We are proud we could hold such an event to support our colleagues across different countries and enable to share experiences and expertise from different fields of practice.
A lot of new inspiration raised up during the event and the CARe Academy trainers’ team already prepare an itinerary of follow up webinars for CARe trainers and practitioners on the topics which were defined as important.
So be ready and follow us on the social media to keep updated😊
Looking forward meeting you soon,
Jana Pluhaříková Pomajzlová
Head trainer CARe Academy
Feedback: What did you experience in the training?
“I made social, professional, and personal connections, share experiences and heard stories. I got wider picture what is going on in other countries which opens up perspective. Safe environment and clear boundaries make me feel good and provide space for work and connection. I feel that after each event my CARe social network is stronger. I like meaningful activities together and this event totally met my expectations."
“I feel as a member of a broader team. Sharing experience gave me more courage not only for training.”
"Meeting people I haven't seen for years in a warm and human atmosphere. The training brought me lots of ideas for my trainings. This was the best part. I felt safe to speak, safe to share, safe to make mistake. Connected to ensuring part, feeling safe enabled me to participate with more ease. I was involved more than I ever imagined to be and it was a really empowering experience. Thank you for that."
Updated: Oct 27, 2022
On 6th and 7th October 2022, the CARe Network brought people from many countries together for a conference themed RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY. The conference took place in the beautiful city of Split, Croatia, and was hosted by the NGO’s Susret and Feniks. It was a very lively and interactive meeting, sharing knowledge, experiences and feelings.
The first day we focused on how we can transform and enrich mental health care in general. The second day was dedicated to the challenges connected to the Ukraine crisis.
Anka Slonjšak, the Croatian Ombudsman for people with disabilities, expressed at the opening of the conference how important it is to work together on social inclusion and to ensure the rights of people with a disability.
Supporting recovery of people with mental health issues should go hand in hand with creating a society where everyone feels welcome and can contribute with his or her talents. In different sessions we shared the latest developments in mental health care and how we can make personal and social recovery support stronger.
Alie Weerman, professor of mental health & society at Windesheim University, deepened the concept of experiential knowledge, illustrating this with impressive examples from her own life. Developing experiential knowledge out of personal experiences contributes not only to personal recovery but also to peer support, advocacy and the enrichment of professional practices.
Zdenek Císař, Michal Kašpar (Czech Republic), Zsuzsa Kondor (Hungary) and Dirk den Hollander (Netherlands) conducted workshops demonstrating the principles and power of self-help and peer support.
Dagmar Narusson from Tartu University, Estonia, introduced the principles of Open Dialogue, which connect very well with working in a relational and experiential way, bringing a micro network of a person with a certain need, family members and professionals together on an equal basis. Sharing experiences, feelings, needs and creating mutual support is a powerful way towards recovery.
Recovery does not happen in mental health care institutions, but in communities in the real world.
Building community connections was introduced by Jean Pierre Wilken (Utrecht University Netherlands & Tartu University Estonia). Dagmar Narusson showed how participatory research can reveal on the one hand the views of clients, family members and care workers on community participation and on the other hand the views of facilities in the community, like libraries, museums and businesses. Bringing perspectives together and building bridges will increase the possibilities for people with mental health issues for social inclusion. Aster Tooma, representing the largest mental health care provider in Estonia, demonstrated how they have been working on deinstitutionalisation with impressive results over the past decade, reducing the number of institutions and creating a great variety of living and support arrangements. The next step however is to connect much more to local communities.
The first day was concluded by a GAGA dance session leaded by Nataša Novotná, Czech dancer, choreographer and lecturer. She showed that discovering and strengthening the body adds to flexibility, strength, stamina, and skills.
The whole day showed that contributions to recovery can be made in many different ways: by self-help, peer support, open dialogue, experiential knowledge, art-based and bodily forms of expression.
On the second day of the conference, we concentrated on the new challenges connected with the war in Ukraine, exploring how to find hope for people who experienced loss and trauma.
Keynote speaker Nino Makhashvili (from Global Initiative on Psychiatry in Georgia) gave a thorough overview of different aspects of trauma and how people may cope. She described the content of Trauma-informed Mental Health Care and Trauma-informed services & systems. In the second part of her presentation, she described the consequences of the annexation of the Crimea in 2014 by Russia and the recent invasion. Studies show a high burden of key mental disorders of PTSD, depression and anxiety among Internally Displaced Persons, particularly women. Mental disorders reduced strongly functioning. Almost 61 - 75% were not receiving the care they need. After the first war studies showed many unaddressed/untreated mental health problems and trauma related conditions. Ukraine has not a properly developed care infrastructure and care systems to meet treatment demand. There is a need for trauma informed public mental health policies & strategies. The current war worsened the situation considerably, with an on-going exposure to traumatic events, which may lead to cumulative trauma. The whole society is affected and vulnerable.
More than 7 million refugees have been recorded in Europe alone (UNHCR) and 7.1 million people have been internally displaced, representing one-third of the pre-war Ukrainian population. Despite the ongoing war, the generally unsafe situation and the increasing lack of resources, already 2.5 million persons returned to Ukraine. Towns and cities are systematically razed to the ground; schools and hospitals are bombed and destroyed, among them psychiatric hospitals and social care homes.
In the last part of her presentation, Makhashvili described the impressive efforts a number of organisations are making to support resilience One of the initiatives is the Ukrainian-language Samopomich program. It provides a multi-faceted platform to help Ukraine deal with the psychological consequences of the war. It includes a website with a wide variety of resources, that are further transmitted via social media helplines. Other activities involve consultation for first line respondents who are directly confronted with the traumatic experiences caused by the war.
Makhashvili’s keynote was followed by testimonies from different countries affected by the war, starting with two psychiatrists from Zaporizhzhia, Galyna Guk and Mykola Khomitskiy, being with us while their city was being bombed. They talked about the huge impact of the war, and the great needs for mental health care support. At the same time, they expressed the hope that better services could be build after the war, including the elements of recovery supportive care as discussed during the first day, like support groups and community reintegration activities.
Lilit Baghdasaryan and Narine Khachatryan (Head of the Recovery College in Armenia / director of the MA program in Personality and Counselling psychology).shared the developments in Armenia. Psychologists Gulzhan Amageldinova, Begaiym Borbieva and Aigul Alikanova talked about the situation in in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It was impressive to notice that despite limited resources, in all countries responses have been found to deal with the mental distress of both refugees fleeing into the country as well the re-traumatization of the events among the population. Multidisciplinary teams were formed and training programmes were developed.
Dolores Britvić, head of Department for Social Psychiatry in Croatia told us about how in her country after the Balkan war, regional psychotrauma centers were established for war veterans and other persons seeking assistance suffering from PTSD. The programme consisted of three group modalities: socio-therapeutic, psycho-educative and trauma-focused groups. Research shows that the programme was successful, but also emphasized the importance of social support in the recovery process of severely traumatized persons.
The second keynote of the day was delivered by Leendert de Bell (professor at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences / Netherlands). He shared his knowledge about refugees, entrepreneurship and return migration. He described the struggle of many refugees to integrate in the host country, especially to get a meaningful job. This is often due to language and cultural barriers. He mentioned several examples of programmes that are developed to get a better access to the labour market, but also programmes that facilitate the preparation to return to the home country when the circumstances allow this.
The last part of the conference was dedicated to work in different sessions on how the CARe Network can add to the efforts already made in different countries. It was obvious that the recovery knowledge that is present in the network is valuable for strengthening mental health services in the near future. We will continue to work on this, in close collaboration with local, national and supraregional organisations.
This conference was a great occasion to share recent developments in recovery supportive care, to express our solidarity with the people of Ukraine, to strengthen connections, and to share knowledge that can help to deal with the immense trauma caused by war.
