Nearly 40,000 Brussels residents found their way to a psychologist or remedial educationalist since 1 September 2021, according to figures requested by Flemish MP from Brussels Hannelore Goeman, (Vooruit.brussels).
A total of 39,360 people in the Brussels-Capital Region (and 315,935 people across Belgium) used first-line psychological care thanks to the new measures created by Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke, to make it more accessible and low-threshold.
"To make the necessary support and help possible, you also need to keep the financial thresholds as low as possible. This is precisely why we have ensured that the offer for children and young people up to 23 years old is free," said Vandenbroucke.
In concrete terms, this convention means that people with mental difficulties requiring professional help can go to a conventional psychologist or remedial educationalist – at their practice, but also at the GPs, at school, in a specific help centre, at the CPAS and in prison.
Avoiding long-term psychological problems
The first session is completely free. From the second session onwards, adults pay €11 co-payment per individual session, or €4 if they are entitled to an increased allowance. Group sessions cost €2.5. Young people up to 23 years old take make use of the full offer free of charge.
"After all, by making conversations about mental (non)well-being possible and detecting worrying signs more quickly, we can avoid many long-term psychological problems," he said.
In Brussels, 39,360 people found their way to primary psychological care since 1 September 2021 – including 12,449 people up to 23 years old. This means that about one in three Brussels residents who used a psychologist or remedial educationalist were able to do so completely free of charge. This is in line with the national average.
Additionally, 35% of Brussels residents who turned to primary psychological care were also entitled to an increased allowance and paid only €4 per individual session, instead of €11. This percentage is noticeably higher than the national average of 24%.
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"Although relatively speaking, there are also more patients with increased compensation in Brussels than in the rest of the country, this figure does show that even financially vulnerable Brussels residents are finding their way to the psychic care to which they are entitled," said Goeman.
She requested the Brussels figures from Vandenbroucke and called on the Flemish Government to take an example from these results.
"Whoever has a toothache goes to the dentist. Those with mental problems should go to a psychologist just as naturally," Goeman said. "While Frank Vandenbroucke has increased the Federal budget around mental health care tenfold, the Flemish Government continues to dawdle when it comes to preventive health care."
"After 20 years of waiting list policy by CD&V ministers, it is urgently time for a Flemish welfare policy that preventively strengthens the psychological health of children, young people and adults," she added.
