ENGLISH

Dear visitor
An important feature in the development of each person is the ability of communicating with another person. Modern times generate modern technologies. We believe that our psychiatric centre, which aims for the conservation, the recovery and the stimulation of mental health, should make the most of these modern communication technologies.

History:
On 28th December 1807 Father Peter Joseph Triest gathered together a number of young men, whose task was to take care of a group of elderly men. In Ghent, like in many towns in our region, the circumstances in which the poor, the sick, and the elderly were forced to live, were abominable. Triest wanted to do something about that. So he founded four congregations.

Our psychiatric centre is run by one of those four congregations: the Brothers of Charity. Originally, they were named the “Hospital Brothers of St. Vincent”. In 1811 the first brothers took their religious vows. From then on, they lived the lives of religious brothers. What had started on a very small scale in 1807 has by now grown into an international congregation with houses in 26 countries. A small seed has grown into a big tree that continues to bear fruit.

In 1842 the Brothers of Charity, stimulated by Professor Dr. Jozef Guislain, opened the “Maison de repos dite Le Strop” (Neuropsychiatric Centre St. Alfons), which cared for wealthy patients. In 1857 the psychiatric centre Dr. Guislain was established for needy patients.

Professor Dr. Guislain was a pioneer in mental health care in Belgium. So in 1997, when the two centres merged, the current psychiatric centre was named after this doctor and co-founder.

Inspiration:
The values are based on those of the “Brothers of Charity”. All human beings are children of God, and deserve respect, care and love, no matter how ill they are. This consideration remains the basic principle of the current Psychiatric Centre Dr. Guislain. To help mentally ill people as tenderly and professionally as possible is what we continuously aim at. Our baseline is: consideration and competence.

Offer:
The Psychiatric Centre Dr. Guislain offers different programs depending on age and problems. If you want to know more about our programs, you can always contact us through the information below on each page, or through the contact-page.

For more information about the “Brothers of Charity”, visit their website.