Georgian mental health policy makers and implementers are visiting the Kingdom of the Netherlands to explore Dutch practices in mental health management. The visit in organised in the framework of the Council of Europe (CoE)/EU joint programme “Human Rights in Prisons and Other Closed Institutions”.

The newly reformed mental healthcare system in the Netherlands offers mental health services both in institutions and in the communities. The system runs a variety of programmes targeting the integration of patients and convicts with mental disorders.  During these five days, participants from the Ministry of Corrections, the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs (MoLHSA) and psychiatric institutions will see how these services and programmes are managed. They will visit psychiatric and penitentiary institutions, mental health services and associations, the Social Psychiatric Centre, and the Centre for Protective Living Environment and Supported Employment.  The Dutch counterparts will also share their experience in reforming and managing the mental healthcare system. This knowledge and experience will help Georgian authorities in the implementation of the Action Plan on Mental Health.

The study visit is part of a series of the EU/CoE joint project activities in support of the mental healthcare in Georgia. Since its launch in 2013, the project has organised a number of training courses, study visits and assessment visits with the involvement of international experts.  The project also supported the implementation of the suicide prevention programme in several prisons. Since January 2015, the programme has also been supporting the MoLHSA in drafting the Strategy and Action Plan for Awareness Raising on Mental Health.