On the surface, the farming village of Geel in the Belgian countryside appears both old-fashioned and picturesque. It consists of sparsely populated farmland as well as a charming market square with cafes and plenty of delightful townsfolk strolling the streets. What is not apparent at first glance is the fact that families in Geel have been welcoming the mentally ill into their homes for almost 700 years. At present, numerous families in Geel are hosting mentally ill individuals and integrating them into their lives within a system known as “family care”.
Interestingly, the town of Geel does not use the term “mentally ill”; rather the host families and people of Geel prefer the term “boarders”. Boarders often come to Geel because they seem to be without options, unable to cope on their own and lacking anyone else to assist them. After completing an initial psychiatric evaluation, boarders are provided with a host family that houses them and reintegrates them into a family and greater community. A boarder is treated as any other family member—involved in everything. Their conduct is expected to meet similar family standards, albeit the understanding that he or she might not have similar coping resources and therefore may require a bit more patience and care. If a boarder requires medication or treatment, there are local hospitals in Geel that accommodate it. Although host families do receive a $730/month stipend for their care, they are not provided with any backstory or clinical diagnoses on their boarder. This is part of the family care philosophy that encourages inclusiveness and eschews stigmatization. Boarders share their lives with host families for years to even a lifetime, with one boarder just celebrating a 50 year surprise party.
Although family care for the mentally ill might sound like a radically new treatment, the town of Geel has actually been doing it since the 13th century. The origins of story go back to St. Dymphna, a legendary Irish princess who became the patron saint of mental illness. As the story goes, Dymphna’s pagan father went mad after losing his wife and demanded that Dymphna marry him. Dymphna fled to Europe to escape her incestuous father and landed in what is now the town of Geel. Over time, she became a revered saint with curative powers for the mentally afflicted. Saint Dymphna’s original shrine developed into a church that attracted pilgrims and legends of miraculous cures. Townspeople began to house the overflow of pilgrims in their homes and, during the Renaissance, Geel became renowned as a sanctuary for the mentally ill.
Today, the family care system operates along very similar lines. At times, boarders have numbered in the thousands, but currently there are around 300 sharing their lives with Geel host families. The people of Geel don’t regard any of this as therapy, but simply family care. But many psychiatric professionals have speculated that it is not only a form of therapy, but also perhaps one of the best. However categorized or diagnosed, the severe mentally ill are often those who have fallen through the cracks. But what if more of us embraced empathy and created communities that reintegrated the individual with the collective in a dignified and empowered way.