I am a practicing psychiatrist with a PhD in epidemiology. I am board adviser international collaboration at the community mental health service GGZ-Noord-Holland-Noord, in The Netherlands. I am an international speaker and trainer on community mental health. The last 7 years I was director of the academy of this mental health service, providing training, e-learning, service evaluation and support to international reform projects of community mental health care. I use three resources of expertise: science, clinical practice and my own lived experience.

I am the chair of the European Community Mental Health Services network (EUCOMS),  https://www.eucoms.net. The aim of this network is to learn from each other’s practice in international exchange and support human rights in mental health care. It is a community of practice, based upon a shared vision of community mental health. In this shared vison Community Mental Health is based upon 6 principles: human rights, public health, recovery, effectiveness and peer expertise. I describe these principles in https://vimeo.com/256413380

I am an international expert in mental health reform projects like MENSANA in Moldova (http://trimbos.md/?lang=en) and other projects throughout Europe and beyond. I was consultant for WHO on community based mental health in Ukraine. I am a member of the Global Leadership Advisory Group – Mental Health (GLAG-MH) https://gle.world/