50 years of Psychiatry Enquête: Bottrop celebrates with a festival week!

50 years of Psychiatry Enquête: Bottrop celebrates with a festival week!

In 2025, the 50th anniversary of the Psychiatry Enquête will be celebrated in Germany. To mark this occasion, the city of Bottrop is organizing an impressive festival week from October 6th to 15th, which will also focus on World Mental Health Day on October 10th. These celebrations are not only a reason to celebrate, but also an opportunity to draw attention to the advances and challenges in mental health care.

The festival week kicked off on October 6th in the Chamber Concert Hall. The foundation for a lively exchange was laid with specialist lectures, experience reports and a panel discussion. Mayor Monika Budke emphasized the central role of the 1975 psychiatric survey. She highlighted how it initiated change in psychiatric care in Germany and thus significantly improved the quality of life of people with mental illnesses. “Without the study, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” says Budke. The importance of care close to home was also emphasized by Dr. Astrid Danneberg, head of the social psychiatric service, who traced the history of municipal health care in Bottrop.

From custody to participation

Before the Enquête, people with mental illnesses were often housed in distant state hospitals, where there was a lack of comprehensive therapy and employment opportunities. The survey ultimately provided the impetus for a fundamental reform that promoted the creation of community-based offers in Bottrop bottroper-zeitung.de. The development since 1975 was pointed out, which today includes a comprehensive network of various types of help. The most significant milestones include the opening of the first psychosocial counseling center by Caritas in 1960 and the founding of the social psychiatric service in 1981.

“Mental health is not a marginal issue, but must be at the center of our society,” emphasizes Friederike Lelgemann from the self-help office at Paritätischen and refers to the 13 self-help groups for relatives and those affected in Bottrop. The St. Antonius Hospital in Bottrop-Kirchhellen, for example, has even received an award as a self-help-friendly hospital, which underlines the importance of self-help in modern psychiatry.

Festival week and current challenges

During the festival week, numerous institutions will open their doors and provide insights into their work to promote mental health. The focus here is on exchanging experiences. Those involved include the BSG Educational Institute, the Diakonisches Werk, the St. Antonius Hospital and the Caritas Association bottrop.de. During the opening, Health Department Head Jochen Brunnhofer also spoke about current challenges such as the shortage of skilled workers and the increasing need for care, which affect the future of psychiatric care.

The 1975 psychiatric inquiry turned out to be a historical turning point. It laid the foundation for humane, outpatient care and initiated profound discussions about the rights of people with mental illnesses dgsp-ev.de. However, despite the progress, there are still challenges, such as ongoing gaps in care and the difficult issue of coercive measures.

Overall, the festival week not only reflects the achievements of the last five decades, but also calls for a critical look at the current supply situation. Dialogue and sharing experiences remain important in order to further promote social participation and integration of people with mental illnesses.