The Dutch Green Mental Health initiative (De Groene GGZ) was formally launched in March 2022, after a preparation time of approximately 1 year. Currently 15 green forerunners of the Green Mental Health initiative, mental health care institutions across the country, are working together on the initiative. Various activities have already been started or carried out.
Nature For Health and IVN, Institute for Nature Education & Sustainability, are the initiators and coordinators of the De Groene GGZ initiative. Other Groene GGZ partners are De Buitenpsychologen, the Dutch GGZ, VU University Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam), and health insurance company CZ.
We hope that the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and the Union of Health Insurers in the Netherlands will soon also support the Green Mental Health initiative. In North Brabant, the Province of North Brabant and Van Gogh National Park are part of the Green Mental Health process. The Province of North Brabant supports the project ‘The Healing Landscape of Green Mental Health Care in North Brabant’ and names the initiative in its new policy framework Nature.
The initiators of Green GGZ are Rob Wolters (NFH) and Renske Visscher (IVN). Rob Wolters coordinates the Green Mental Health Care Core Team together with Alies Westerbroek (IVN). Rob Wolters is also project leader of the Healing Landscape project of the Groene GGZ in Noord-Brabant.
More information: www.groenggz.nl
