In this episode, we talk to psychiatrist Jan Pfeiffer about mental health reform in Czechia and how this helped create a broader European deinstitutionalisation movement.

As a psychiatrist Jan realised early on in his work that institutions were more harmful than helpful to the people who lived there. So, he decided to make a change. Since the 1980s he has been working to close institutions on both national and European level.

When the case of a young boy who had been forced to live in a caged bed in a Czech institution became public and gained international attention J.K. Rowling got involved. As more and more countries joined the EU, Jan and J.K. Rowling decided to take the issue of institutionalisation to Brussels.

Jan ended up working on this in many different countries. Key lessons include the importance of collaboration, using resources better, and keeping a clear focus on people’s needs and rights.

For this, Jan helped create the European Expert Group on the transition from institutions to community-based support (EEG).

Finally, Jan speaks about the impact of the mental health reform for people with intellectual disabilities, especially those with complex support needs.

This episode is co-funded by the European Union.

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction

03:32 Working with J.K. Rowling

06:29 Taking deinstitutionalisation to the EU level

11:34 EEG is born

15:46 Collaboration is important

22:04 Mental health reform in Czechia

28:15 Closing institutions is necessary for deinstitutionalisation

33:29 Focus on the people inside, not the buildings

39:02 People with intellectual disabilities and complex support needs in institutions