News

On June 17 and 18, several colleagues from Karakter took part in an exchange visit to the LVR University Hospital in Essen. The exchange was part of the B-BOLD Minds project – an Interreg VI initiative aimed at enhancing the quality of care through sociocultural learning and cross-border collaboration. Colleagues share their experience.

On October 1st, a meeting on cross-border collaboration in healthcare took place in Brussels at the European Patient Forum. Representatives from various European countries, active in politics (including European commissioners), healthcare, and mental health care, discussed ways to improve care for children and families in border regions.

From Monday, March 17 to Wednesday, March 19, the very first international exchange of the B-Bold Minds project took place at Karakter locations in Ede and Nijmegen.

On Wednesday 22 January 2025, the ENCAP symposium on forced feeding in anorexia and its impact on professionals in Germany and the Netherlands took place. Many mental health experts from both countries came to Kleve, Germany, to discuss challenges and alternative solutions around this patient care.

The treatment of anorexia is an emotional challenge for patients, their environment and their therapists. The condition is complex and can have life-threatening consequences. Treatment teams regularly struggle with ethical and emotional dilemmas and a sense of powerlessness. Do you recognize this?

What are the differences and similarities in classification patterns within child and adolescent psychiatry between countries? The patient populations in Dutch and German child and adolescent psychiatry are compared and the importance of the socio-cultural context is discussed.

How do therapists deal with challenges in the treatment of anorexia nervosa, with and without administering force-feeding? During a symposium in Kleve (D) on January 22, 2025 the results of several focus groups with therapists from the Netherlands and Germany will be discussed.

Trainers from the ENCAP organisations LVR-Kliniken Bedburg-Hau, Viersen, Essen and Düsseldorf, and Karakter recently met at an introductory meeting. They are involved in the B-BOLD Minds project which promotes cross-border exchanges of mental health care professionals in the Euregio Rhine-Waal region.

Child and adolescent psychiatrists and psychologists in training are given the opportunity to work in a child and adolescent psychiatric clinic in Germany. Conversely, German therapists in training can participate in the work of colleagues in the Netherlands.

In a new episode of the podcast series 'Kennis met Karakter' cross-border collaboration is discussed. What can we learn from our neighbours in Germany, and vice versa?

We are happy to announce that our ED-CARE (Eating Disorder - Care) project has been granted funding from the Euregio Rijn-Waal, marking a significant leap forward in our mission to improve the care and understanding of eating disorders through cross-border collaboration.