Press release
With “Connecting Bridge” the H.U.B aims to combat the isolation of patients with psychiatric problems.
Brussels, 3 October 2025 – A new wind is blowing through the Department of Psychiatry at the Erasmus Hospital (H.U.B). With the launch of its “Connecting Bridge” programme, in partnership with the non-profit organisation Smiles and the Family Home Hospital Support (FHS) network, the team at the protective observation unit is breaking new ground. Hospitalised patients will now have a connection with the outside world during their hospitalisation so as to support reinsertion and above all combat isolation and stigmatisation.
Three key messages to remember:
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Meaning and connections
The protective observation hospitalisation unit at the H.U.B’s South-East Department of Psychiatry often treats patients in an acute phase. Most of these patients are hospitalised for 40 days following a court order.
For the team who initiated the project, the “Connecting Bridge” programme meets two crucial needs. Firstly, avoiding this lengthy period of hospitalisation from engendering (or reinforcing) the isolation and stigmatisation of patients. Secondly, listening and providing the necessary support for the day-to-day progress of patients once they leave hospital.
In a way, the Connecting Bridge project strengthens the provisions brought by amendments to the law that, since 1 January 2025, has sought to provide more support for patients placed under protective observation.
“Psychiatry is often spoken of as a closed world,” stresses Axelle Dejardin, clinical psychologist. “With this project we want to show that there is more to psychiatric care than treating a patient in crisis. It also involves creating connections, preserving dignity and providing the possibility of thinking about a life trajectory.”
A unique alliance with the outside world
Every other Friday, information sessions on the programme are held for patients who wish to attend. On the alternate Fridays circle meetings are held, inspired by the Open Dialogue method. Originating in Finland in the 1980s, Open Dialogue is a psychotherapeutic support model based on transparency, inclusion, respect for the rhythm of the individual and dialogue. Patients become actors in their own care and can invite to these meetings significant persons from their everyday life (family, friends, neighbours, GP, etc.)
During the talking circles, hospitalised persons, loved ones, the FHS team and the Connecting Bridge team meet as equal partners in a welcoming atmosphere. Nobody is discussed in their absence: everything is said in the patient’s presence. There is no imposed structure and the patient’s questions, priorities and resources are freely discussed. The bonds created at the hospital extend to the outside world, through the FHS network, to maintain contacts.
”We do not necessarily discuss the treatment, but rather life projects and specific difficulties,” explains Mariana Athanassiu, specialised educator. “The idea is to connect the person to their resources, reactivate links and avoid discharge from hospital being experienced as a severance”.
A pilot project that expresses a collective ambition
The “Connecting Bridge” programme marks a major development: psychiatry as a place of openness, continuity and support shared with the exterior. A rare project in Belgium, especially in the context of protective observation hospitalisation, and the team are convinced of its positive impact on the quality of life of patients, the care they receive and prevention of rehospitalisation.
“Psychiatry must remain a place of rehabilitation and shared discourse,” stresses Dr Youssouf Ramdani, psychiatrist. “Connecting Bridge is a practical way of supporting persons who must live with their psychiatric problems outside the hospital.”
A view supported by Professor Pierre Oswald, head of the H.U.B Department of Psychiatry: “Our desire is to build an inclusive and human psychotherapeutic care that looks to the future. Open Dialogue is a tried and tested methodand we hope it will bring its rewards for the H.U.B and that the Connecting Bridge programme will inspire other hospitals to adopt this approach.”
Contact
Louis Dijon
Marine Lhomel