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Introduction
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November 2023 - present
Position
- staff member
November 2011 - present
Publications
Publications (61)
Background: Recent research suggests a concerning trend of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal behaviors emerging at younger ages (as early as age 12). Early onset of NSSI is linked to more severe outcomes. While universal school-based prevention programs have shown promise in addressing suicidal behaviors, there is limited research on the...
Background: Recent research suggests a concerning trend of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal behaviors emerging at younger ages (as early as age 12). Early onset of NSSI is linked to more severe outcomes. While universal school-based prevention programs have shown promise in addressing suicidal behaviors, there's limited research on thei...
It is widely recognised that young people in out-of-home care are often involved in a complex process of culminating disadvantage and exclusion. Investing in the core ingredients of social inclusion (participation and interpersonal relationships) while still in care can counterbalance ongoing exclusion processes. In this article, we explore how ear...
Background: Research indicates that among the risks associated with young people's alcohol and illicit drug use are sexual risks. However, insights into co-occurrence of substance use and sexual risks in adolescent samples and possible differences across countries are limited. Methods: A sample of 1449 adolescents from Belgium, Sweden, the Czech Re...
First results of the Live Story Work project in Flanders (Belgium). Within this project ten intensive trajectories (11 sessions) with care-experiences young people are set up, aiming to co-create multi-layered narratives that result in an art work. Presentations and publications related to this work will report on methods, outcomes of the trajector...
Background:
Mental health problems are a main contributor to the global burden of disease in children and young people within urban environments. In response, the potential of both school- and sport-based mental health promotion interventions has been advocated. However, there exists limited insights into how sport-based interventions can be integ...
BACKGROUND
Mental health problems are a main contributor to the global burden of disease in children and young people within urban environments. In response, the potential of both school- and sport-based mental health promotion interventions has been advocated. However, there exists limited insights into how sport-based interventions can be integra...
This article draws attention to the relevance of young care leavers' exercise of agency as one possible key ingredient in overcoming barriers to engagement in work. Several previous studies show difficulties in entering adult life, both in relation to higher and further education as well as entrance into work life. The article analyses interviews w...
University students are at elevated risk for psychological distress, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to warmly contact our students and investigate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the subjective wellbeing (SWB) and levels of psychological symptoms (such as depressive and anxious feelings) of u...
Geestelijke gezondheid is een complex en moeilijk te definiëren
begrip, waar – zowel in de (wetenschappelijke) literatuur als
in de praktijk – nog zeer weinig consensus over is (Manwell,
Barbic, Robertson, & al, 2015; Van Agteren & Iasiello, 2019;
World Health Organisation, 2004, 2008). De term wordt vaak
gedefinieerd vanuit geestelijke ongezondhei...
Er is in Vlaanderen weinig cijfermateriaal dat kan staven in welke mate tabak, alcohol en illegale drugs gebruikt worden door ‘kwetsbare’ groepen jongeren (zoals jongeren geplaatst in de bijzondere jeugdzorg ofwel BJZ). In dit artikel belichten we een prevalentiestudie uitgevoerd bij jongeren die verblijven in een residentiële setting van de BJZ (N...
Objective:
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is common among adult patients with a substance use disorder, yet often goes undetected. This is a qualitative study to explore implementation barriers to a guideline developed in Belgium for the recognition and treatment of ADHD in adult patients with substance use disorder and to gain a...
Onderzoek naar druggebruik bij adolescenten gebeurt vaak in klassieke schoolcontexten, waardoor een belangrijke groep ‘kwetsbare’ jongeren niet of onvoldoende vertegenwoordigd is. In deze paper bespreken we een narratief onderzoek bij 40 jongeren die begeleid worden in de residentiële bijzondere jeugdbijstand. Drugs en druggebruik nemen een niet on...
Accessible summary
In Belgium some adults with learning difficulties live with their siblings and siblings‐in‐law.
The authors of this article listened to siblings‐in‐law, trying to understand how they felt about this living together.
This article seems to be important for those persons with learning disabilities who give a lot about their sisters...
Internationaal onderzoek wijst op een hoge prevalentie van psychiatrische stoornissen bij gedetineerden. Het ontbreekt echter
veelal aan systematische en accurate procedures om deze stoornissen te diagnosticeren. In dit artikel bespreken we de ontwikkeling
van een aangepast protocol voor screening en assessment van psychiatrische stoornissen en dru...
The study aims to map the treatment perspectives of international experts on
treating mentally ill offenders (MIO) in a forensic psychiatric centre (FPC) using
the Delphi method. The four-round Delphi study reveals high conformity on the
proposed treatment-related issues. However, some points of divergence remain.
Three controversies underpinning t...
The Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) is one of the most frequently used dimensional instruments for screening behavioural and emotional problems in children. In this study the psychometric properties of the CBCL 2001-version and the usefulness of existing US norms within a Flemish community sample were explored. Mothers of young children (Af= 170)...
The Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) is one of the most frequently used dimensional instruments for screening behavioural and emotional problems in children. In this study the psychometric properties of the CBCL 2001-version and the usefulness of existing US norms within a Flemish community sample were explored. Mothers of young children (N = 170)...
Although Synanon has been extensively studied, attention has seldom been paid to the question of how the many ex-members who left Synanon before or at its dissolution ‘survived’ their community and indoctrination, and how they now evaluate their involvement. This article explores how ex-members react to their previous affiliation to Synanon, the cr...
Familieleden van drugsgebruikers worden veel meer dan vroeger als belangrijke partners in de hulpverlening beschouwd, maar
kunnen door hulpverleners ook als dwingend en lastig ervaren worden. In dit artikel benaderen we familieleden als een aparte
doelgroep die ook ondersteuning nodig heeft. Deze ondersteuning kan slechts tot stand komen nadat duid...
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether European and American therapeutic communities (TCs) for addiction, both traditional and modified, share a common perspective on what is essential in treatment using the Survey of Essential Elements Questionnaire (SEEQ). The European sample (N = 19) was gathered in 2009. For the American sample (N...
According to the EUPRIS-study on mental health in prisons (2007), available data on mental disorders in prison are scarce. Therefore, this study aims at summarizing and discussing the available knowledge on incarcerated mentally ill offenders concerning: (1) the screening and assessment for detecting mental health; (2) the psychiatric expertise in...
Door verschillende auteurs werd herhaaldelijk gewezen op de precaire situatie waarin geïnterneerden in België zich bevinden. Inmiddels werden een aantal concrete beleidsinitiatieven genomen die kunnen gelden als een aanzet voor een mogelijke grondige hervorming van het interneringssysteem. Zo voorziet het Masterplan Internering in de oprichting van...
Internationaal onderzoek wijst op een hoge prevalentie van psychiatrische stoornissen bij gedetineerden. Het ontbreekt echter veelal aan systematische en accurate procedures om deze stoornissen te diagnosticeren. In dit artikel bespreken we de ontwikkeling van een aangepast protocol voor screening en assessment van psychiatrische stoornissen en dru...
Dit boek geeft een overzicht van de domeinen van de vier 'traditionele' groepen van personen met een handicap (een verstandelijke, fysieke, visuele of auditieve handicap), en daarnaast ook nog van personen met gedragsstoornissen, personen met een autisme spectrumstoornis, personen die middelen misbruiken, personen met ernstig meervoudige beperkinge...
In therapeutic community-based programmes, instruments are also used to structure treatment. In line with the positive view of change, the need for a tool measuring personal resources was observed. The diagnostic system PREDI (Psychosoziales Ressourcenorientierter Diagnostiksystem) was developed to measure personal capacities and motivational aspec...
This paper describes experiences of implementing different standardized assessment tools for research and treatment needs in 29 residential treatment centres in nine countries in Europe, within the IPTRP (Improving Psychiatric Treatment in Residential Programs for emerging dependency groups). Four instruments were obligatory for all centres partici...
Onderzoek heeft zich tot op heden vooral gefocust op risico’s die de vriendschapsrelaties van (problematisch) druggebruikende adolescenten met zich mee kunnen brengen. Met deze studie werd ook een mogelijk aanwezige positieve kracht vanuit deze vriendschapsrelaties erkend. Aan de hand van een interview werd op zoek gegaan naar gelijkenissen en vers...
Because diagnostic assessment of children emphasizes information from multiple informants, the reliability of findings in detained and incarcerated samples may be hampered. The objective of the current study was to examine parent-child agreement with regard to disruptive behavior disorders (with or without impairment) and disorder-related symptoms...
There is a lack of research illustrating the extent of psychiatric problems in European TCs. Furthermore, there is a need to obtain more insight into gender differences concerning comorbidity in the TC population. In an attempt to respond to previous shortcomings, three specific goals were formulated for the current study. The primary aim was to ex...
Similarities as well as differences can be observed between Europe and the United States regarding the organisation of substance abuse prevention, treatment and policy. These issues were addressed during the EWODOR Symposium, which took place in Blankenberge (Belgium) in September 2005. This paper describes the complex, underlying social and ideolo...
Het belang van sociale steun bij de behandeling van verslaafden wordt algemeen aanvaard. Hulpverleners betrekken er daarom
graag belangrijke anderen bij. De behoeften van deze significante anderen mogen echter niet worden veronachtzaamd, want samenleven
met iemand die middelen misbruikt kan leiden tot extreme en langdurige stress. De steun die sign...
Although numerous studies recognize the importance of social network support in engaging substance abusers into treatment, there is only limited knowledge of the impact of network involvement and support during treatment. The primary objective of this research was to enhance retention in Therapeutic Community treatment utilizing a social network in...
There is empirical evidence that treatment motivation and readiness are closely linked to retention. Several instruments have been developed to measure these concepts; such instruments can reliably assess the stages of motivation and readiness, and predict treatment retention and outcome. However, limited efforts have been undertaken in Europe to t...
It is the goal of this study to investigate the first development of the drug-free therapeutic community (TC) in Europe. The paper aims at systemizing information, scattered all over Europe and is the first stage in an ongoing study to record the development of the European TC movement and its influences.
After a study of the grey (hidden) literatu...
Het belang van sociale steun in het rehabilitatie-proces van middelenmisbruikers wordt algemeen aanvaard (zie: Soyez, 2004 voor een overzicht). Onderzoek heeft aangetoond dat significante anderen een belangrijke rol vervullen bij het engageren van middelenmisbruikers tot behandeling. Sociale steun tijdens de behandeling leidt tot duidelijke gedrags...
This article discusses the use of residential therapeutic communities (TCs) to help addicts recover. The European and American antecedents of the TC and the model’s further evolution and dispersion are described. The increasing openness of the TC toward the outside world and its changed attitude toward family involvement have played important roles...
Family therapy takes a special position in the therapeutic community for substance abusers (TC). In the early therapeutic communities, the family of origin was not considered as important for the substance abuser's recovery process, and was even labelled as part of the problem. It was only in the 1970s that the TC acknowledged the significance of f...
This article aims to search for a specific female, psychiatric profile based on a large European sample of substance dependent clients (828) entering therapeutic communities. First, all six areas of functioning of the EuropASI were included, using the composite scores to search for gender differences. Next, the 'psychiatric' status section was sele...
Transition to re-entry (aftercare) is a stressful event for therapeutic community residents. While several authors agree on the importance of social support during reintegration, few studies have focused on the experiences of re-entry clients themselves and their significant others during this period. Using a case-study design, the present study ex...
The project Improving Psychiatric Treatment in Residential Programmes for Newly Dependent Groups through Relapse Prevention (IPTRP) was accepted within the Fourth Framework Programme of the European Commission BIOMED II (Biomedicine and Health Research). Universities and/or research centres from eight EC countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Greece,...
In 1981, a "research-practice" breakthrough was realized through the foundation of the European Federation of Therapeutic Communities (EFTC). Since its foundation EFTC regularly organized conferences and symposia. A few years later (in 1983), the European Workshop On Drug policy Oriented Research (EWODOR) was established at the Erasmus University i...
This article describes the different phases of the development and implementation of the Videotaped Addiction Challenge Tool (VACT, initially termed the Video Addiction Challenge Test). This instrument employs a video depicting the `average life-story' of a resident of a Therapeutic Community for substance abusers. The video film is used as a clini...
By statistical analysis of client data it is shown how past or current network information together with other knowledge assesses treatment needs. The main findings are as follows. The client’s previous exposure to addicts in the family has almost no influence on his or her present contacts with addicts in daily life. About 30% of the clients have...
Volgens de Wereldgezondheidsorganisatie (who; www.who.org) wordt ongeveer 10 procent van de bevolking geconfronteerd met een aangeboren of verworven lichamelijke, sensoriële of verstandelijke beperking. Heel wat van deze personen hebben, ondanks hun beperking, één of meer kinderen. Het opvoeden van kinderen is voor deze ouders vaak minder vanzelfsp...
