FSC shares its experience in community mental health and networking at the “Tejiendo redes en salud mental” conference in Castellón

The Health and Community Foundation (FSC) recently took part in the conference “Tejiendo redes en salud mental” (Weaving networks in mental health), held in Castellón, where Belén Sánchez Garcés, director of the social and health programmes CIBE Castellón, IMMA and La Llar Primer, spoke at a round table on community good practices. María Valls, psychologist and coordinator of CIBE Castellón, moderated the various contributions throughout the day. FSC’s participation in the event provided an opportunity to share experiences, highlight good practices and strengthen collaboration among the services working in the field of mental health.

On 23 October, the Health and Community Foundation (FSC) took part in the technical and community conference “Tejiendo redes en salud mental”, held at the Edificio Borrull in Castellón. The initiative, organised by the Department of Social Welfare of Castellón City Council, was part of the city’s programme for Mental Health Month.

The event brought together more than 150 professionals, institutional representatives, associations and social organisations from across the province, with the aim of creating a space to exchange experiences, strengthen coordination between services and reflect on the importance of community work in the prevention, care and support of people with mental health problems.

FSC’s participation was structured around two contributions. On the one hand, Belén Sánchez Garcés, director of the social and health programmes CIBE Castellón, IMMA and La Llar Primer, spoke on the round table “Community good practices in mental health: services, experiences and support networks in Castellón”. On the other, María Valls, psychologist and coordinator of CIBE Castellón, was responsible for moderating the various contributions throughout the day.

In her presentation, Belén Sánchez described the experience of CIBE Castellón and the work carried out in recent years to identify and document the difficulties faced by people experiencing homelessness and severe mental health problems in accessing hospital care, especially in crisis situations. Based on this analysis, and in collaboration with the Castellón Technical Board on Homelessness, a number of proposals were drawn up to improve care pathways and provide responses better suited to these people’s needs.

In this context, she presented the results of a pilot scheme focused on setting up specific emergency care pathways for CIBE service users facing particularly complex situations. These are people in whom several vulnerability factors converge, such as homelessness, substance use, lack of a diagnosis and an absent or fragile social and family support network. The combination of these circumstances can worsen their situation and considerably increase the risk to their health and safety.

Community services also play a key role in the early detection of risk situations and in supporting the people affected. In this area, CIBE has specific tools and capacities to identify possible decompensation, maintain service users’ bond with the professional team, facilitate the administration of medication and continuously monitor their progress. This close, community-based work is essential to connect the needs detected at the service with the specialised care provided by the health system more quickly and effectively.

The results achieved through these coordination channels have brought about a considerable improvement in the care of the participants. The main advances include obtaining diagnoses within the health system, starting medication immediately at the centre itself and better continuity of care after crises have been stabilised, making subsequent access to mental health units easier. There has also been an increase in hospital admissions in cases of severe crisis where people had professional support, and the care received in emergency departments has improved.

Beyond the improvements in care pathways, the experience has also revealed direct benefits for the people supported, such as a reduction in high-risk substance use and aggressive behaviour, better self-care and understanding of their own illness, and fewer conflicts with the community and fewer legal proceedings linked to certain behaviours.

To conclude, Belén Sánchez stressed that identifying and documenting the difficulties within the different care systems, and passing this information on to the people and bodies responsible, is an essential first step towards driving improvements. She also highlighted the importance of moving towards formal protocols for these good practices, so that coordination and action pathways do not depend solely on the goodwill or availability of particular professionals, but become established as stable procedures. The ultimate goal is to guarantee quality care and help everyone to effectively exercise their right to health, regardless of their personal and social circumstances.

María Valls, psychologist and coordinator of CIBE Castellón, moderated the conference, guiding and facilitating the different contributions, encouraging dialogue between professionals and highlighting the main ideas and lessons from each experience shared.

Throughout the day, different dimensions of community mental health were discussed, from therapeutic support and the importance of community ties to early detection, coordination between the health and education sectors, social participation and support aimed at fostering autonomy and inclusion.

The conference was closed by Clara Adsuara, Councillor for Social Welfare and Older People of Castellón City Council, and also brought together institutional representatives and professionals from various fields related to mental health, encouraging the exchange of experiences and perspectives on community care and support.

Taking part in this conference allowed FSC to share the work of its programmes in Castellón, highlight good practices and strengthen collaboration between the services involved in community mental health. We would like to thank Castellón City Council for the invitation, as well as for the recognition and support received, which encourage us to keep working in partnership to promote more accessible, comprehensive and person-centred care.