Members of the Federation

Human Rights in Mental Health-FGIP is a federation of non-governmental organizations in mental health that share the same values and have the same mission and vision. The current members are all offsprings of GIP-Hilversum and were founded during the first decade of this century. They are all independent legal entities with their own boards and staffing, and work within the context of our mission and vision in their own specific ways. Chairpersons of the boards of the members of the federation are member of the Federation Council, the highest authority of Human Rights in Mental Health-FGIP.

GIP-Benelux


Global Initiative-Hilversum (GIP-H) supports the development of mental health care services in developing countries. GIP strives to ensure that every person can participate in society as fully as possible, irrespective of the fact whether he/she is a hospitalized psychiatric patient in Sri Lanka, a person with an intellectual disability in Ukraine or an AIDS-orphan in South Africa. In order to bring about structural reforms in mental health, GIP works at grass root level together with local partners and at governmental level with politicians and policy makers. In our work cultural-specific issues have a prime focus.

The main target groups of GIP are:

  • Persons with a mental illness
  • Persons with an intellectual disability
  • Persons who have developed mental health problems as a result of external factors, such as HIV/AIDS, acts of war or natural disasters

Global Initiative on Psychiatry – Benelux

GIP-Benelux has been around for more than forty years. During this period, the organization has undergone many changes, constantly adapting to the changing circumstances and also to the ever-changing needs in the parts of the world where GIP is or has been active.

The organization was founded in Paris in December 1980 as a temporary association of national committees fighting against the political abuse of psychiatry, particularly in the Soviet Union. This abuse ended with the fall of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. It was then that we came into contact with psychiatrists who would like to humanize and reform their psychiatry. They asked us for help and we decided to give it.

To make clear that our task had changed, we changed the name of the organization and became an official foundation. With its many projects and activities, GIP has developed into an organization in the field of mental health care, care for mentally handicapped people, as well as in the field of human rights.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, we decided to set up regional offices in order to be able to operate closer to the field of work and to transfer ownership to the region within the framework of sustainability. Offices were opened in Vilnius (2000), Sofia (2001) and Tbilisi (2003) and eventually also in the Tajik capital Dushanbe. Step by step, the offices started to operate more independently.

In 2005 the regional offices became independent legal entities with their own management. The organization also went to work in countries outside the original region: in Africa, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and on the island of Curaçao in the Caribbean. The office in Hilversum was 'equalized' with the other offices within the federation. As GIP-Hilversum it carried out a number of large projects with money from the Dutch Ministry of Development Cooperation. However, when that cash flow stopped, the office was greatly reduced in size and eventually closed.

A new board was formed in 2019 with new enthusiasm. GIP-Hilversum was revived again, this time as a volunteer organization without permanent employees and without a physical office, and under the name GIP-Benelux. We mainly focus on smaller (sub) projects with concrete goals for which funds have to be raised. One of the first goals is to contribute to the reform project for the psycho-neurological internats in Ukraine.

Considering the current size we do not publish annual financial reports, but hope that this will change in the near future. At the moment we have 4,000 euro reserved for projects in Ukraine.

 

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Mental Health Perspectives (formerly: GIP-Vilnius)

 

Mental Health Perspectives (formerly known as Global Initiative on Psychiatry) is a non-governmental organization established in the year 2000 and working in the field of mental health and human rights. 

Our mission is to contribute to the well-being of society and especially its most vulnerable groups, through consolidation of their fundamental right to accessible, evidence-based and person-centred services, whilst also prioritising mental health at the political level. 

Our vision is a State that has mental health as a priority at the policy level, and operates within an effective, flexible and contemporary system, which ensures provision of accessible, community-based and person-centred quality mental health services to all. 

Our Activities: 

  •  Capacity building and fundraising;
  •  Policy development and advocacy;
  •  Watchdog function;
  •  Trainings and research;
  •  Public education and awareness raising;
  •  Publicity;
  •  Exchange, adaptation and sharing of best practice examples;
  •  Monitoring of human rights in the fields of mental health and social care;
  •  Development cooperation;
  •  Coordination of volunteers;
  •  Strategic litigation;
  •  Networking;
  •  Development of services and programme adaptation.

Our Values: 

  • Respect for human rights and individuality;
  • Equality;
  • Social inclusion;
  • Analysis and expert knowledge;
  • Transparency and impartiality;
  • Open-mindedness and cooperation;
  • Self-reflection and performance improvement.

Mental Health Perspectives has successfully implemented more than 60 national and international projects. Organization regularly and actively carries out advocacy activities, aiming for positive changes in mental health system. 

Mental Health Perspectives is a member of the I Can Live CoalitionNational Non-Governmental Development Cooperation Organisations’ Platform, Informal NGO Coalition for Child’s Rights, Coalition Mental Health 2030, Human Rights Coalition, as well as a member of international organizations Federation Global Initiative on Psychiatry and Mental Health Europe



Global Initiative on Psychiatry - Tbilisi


The foundation Global Initiative on Psychiatry – Tbilisi (GIP-Tbilisi) is a non-governmental, non-for-profit organisation that assists professional communities, NGOs, international agencies, governments, and other development institutions in the Caucasus and Central Asia to improve rights-based mental health care. The organization started its activities in May 2003, under the name of “Geneva Initiative on Psychiatry – Tbilisi” as a Regional Support Centre for Caucasus and Central Asia. In April 2005 the name has been changed to “Global Initiative on Psychiatry – Tbilisi”.

GIP - Tbilisi aims to work at 3 levels of society to achieve maximal effect:

Micro Level

Meso Level

Macro Level

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American Initiative for Mental Health (GIP-USA)

GIP-USA is particularly interested in helping to address the very serous problem of people with mental illnesses involved with the criminal justice system. The United States seems to be returning to the 19th century system of incarcerating large numbers of people with mental illnesses rather than providing necessary services in the community. This practice has forced many people with mental illnesses into inhumane and dangerous situations. Increasing services in the community is not only more humane but also more cost-effective.

 

 

GIP-USA is particularly interested in helping to address the very serous problem of people with mental illnesses involved with the criminal justice system. The United States seems to be returning to the 19th century system of incarcerating large numbers of people with mental illnesses rather than providing necessary services in the community. This practice has forced many people with mental illnesses into inhumane and dangerous situations. Increasing services in the community is not only more humane but also more cost-effective.

 

 

Global Initiative on Psychiatry - -Sofia

Drawing upon the 27-year experience of GIP-Hilversum, GIP-Sofia has been working since 2002 in support of mental health reforms in the South East European (SEE) region. Originally established as a trade representation of the Dutch foundation, in December 2004, GIP-Sofia was registered as an independent organization working in the public interest, with its own board.

Given the region's history and economic situation, and particularly the historically inherited attitude to mental illness, the toddler's steps of the newly incorporated foundation were not easy. However, GIP-Sofia managed to quickly catch up with its EU peers, emerging as a trustworthy and reliable partner in many projects and a leading organization in a number of important mental health initiatives.

GIP-Sofia undertakes projects and activities that advance all dimensions of mental health systems and care, including:

Deinstitutionalizing and transforming institutional care
Empowering users, carers & professionals
Engaging in policy development & advocacy
Implementing anti-stigma and public awareness campaigns for people with mental illness and others.

FGIP - Sri Lanka

FGIP Sri Lanka was established in 2019 in suppoprt of a long-term project to develoop community mental health care services in the Northern Province. It will also develop other activities in Sri Lanka. FGIP has been working in Sri Lanka since the b eginning of the cen tury and works closely with a number of partners in the country.

Help us help our Ukrainian colleagues!

FGIP has been working in Ukraine for more than thirty years and has a huge community of friends and colleagues there. FGIP is doing everything possible  to help them during these difficult times. We have started a large-scale psychological aid program for the victims of this military conflict. A new self-help program was been set up in Ukrainian that provides resources to mental health professionals and helps the general population to deal with the psychological consequences of this war. Please support us with your donation.