Mental health treatment needs have grown considerably in the past decade, both globally and in Belgium. Belgian health insurance fund, Solidaris, is emphasising that the current service here does not meet the increasing demand.
With Monday, 10 October being World Mental Health Day, both Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Solidaris have published reports revealing a dramatic increase in the number of people requiring psychological care over the last decade.
Since 2012, the number of consultations organised by MSF has climbed by 203%, with their teams offering 383,300 individual consultations in 2021.
Furthermore, the NGO also bemoaned the problems migrants caught up in Belgium's current asylum crisis face in regard to accessing psychological care in Belgium, especially given the already poor access Belgians have had since the pandemic.
Decade-long overview of Belgian mental health care
Providing fresh evidence of limited access to mental health care, Solidaris presented a study on the treatment Belgians received over the last ten years.
The report indicated that the number of people who live in a constant state of anxiety, distress, or depression increased from 10% to 35% between 2012 and 2022.
Related News
- 'Blatantly ignoring': More people regularly avoid all news, research shows
- Half of Belgian girls do not feel heard by politicians
- Brussels residents less likely to consume antidepressants compared to other regions
Furthermore, 17.6% of respondents take medication to manage their mental health issues, which is more than double the figure from 2012. Meanwhile, according to the survey, compensation for said treatment has remained broadly the same.
What has improved?
Solidaris did acknowledge that some progress had been made in the sector, particularly in making people aware of the support services available to them.
One-third of people suffering from mental health problems had seen a psychologist, up from 5% in 2012, with patients being generally satisfied with the quality of care received (marking it 7.2 out of 10 in 2022, up from 5.8 a decade prior).
Has it been enough though?
However, a majority of respondents believe that investment in mental health care is insufficient, either because it is not a government priority, comes second to physical health, or is not financially accessible enough.
Furthermore, the groups most in need (women and people in poverty) are also those whose care is most covered by a health insurance fund.
Some proposed solutions
As a result, Solidaris has provided recommendations on how best to increase the availability of psychological treatment in Belgium.
Most importantly, therapy and knowledge of the psychological sector must be made more accessible, particularly among certain populations such as young people and persons in difficult situations.
And finally, the role of general practitioners in the care of mental health, particularly in the context of medication prescription, must be investigated.
