Depression, chronic anxiety, bipolar disorder, phobias, suicidal thoughts—in France, one in four people struggle with mental disorders. This situation has only worsened with the Covid-19 crisis. For over 15 years, Fondation de France has been deeply committed to mental health issues and has developed a global approach: long-term support of research on psychiatric disorders, early diagnosis, support for those concerned and their loved ones as they recover and reintegrate into society and promoting a new way of looking at these illnesses.

In September 2021, the Mental Health Convention highlighted a critical situation: growing needs, a sometimes-dramatic lack of resources to meet those needs, and the importance of making mental health a priority for public health.

Raising the stakes on research

There has been significant progress in neuroscientific research in recent years. Since 2016, Fondation de France has led an original and ambitious program that supports research on psychiatric disorders. The supported projects depend on cooperation between clinicians and researchers, with three objectives:

• identify biomarkers that make it possible to diagnose disorders more rapidly;
• improve patient management by evaluating existing therapeutic practices;
• develop new drugs for more effective treatments.

Support for people living with mental disorders means more than medical treatment. This is why Fondation de France also invests in projects dealing with their place in society.

Health issues are social issues

Mental disorders are still taboo, even if the current health crisis has encouraged debate on the subject. The misunderstanding, stigmatization, fear, denial and guilt that accompany these illnesses leads to delayed diagnosis, abuse, exclusion and infantilization. The complexity and chaos of life with a mental disorder also deeply affects families and loved ones. The Covid-19 crisis has shown how it is more urgent than ever to change the way we deal with these illnesses. We must rethink psychiatric practices to reflect a global, integrated approach to patient care that encompasses health, social and medical issues. For over 15 years, Fondation de France has been taking action to address these questions, with a strong commitment to empowering people directly affected by mental disorders and promoting the concept of recovery in France.

Fondation de France’s “Mental Disorders: access to care and daily living” program has four objectives:

• change the way people view these illnesses, to allow those concerned to better integrate into society, live their lives and support their loved ones;
• improve access to care, including training for primary caregivers, as well as ordinary citizens through mental first aid programs, and fostering the creation of mobile mental health units;
• allowing people suffering from mental disorders to better integrate into society (finding adapted housing, keeping or changing jobs, improving skills and empowering those concerned, including promoting the recovery movement and developing “peer-support”);
• supporting the entourage of the affected person (therapeutic alliances with caregivers, Profamille training, BREF program, etc.).

Changing perceptions

Among other things, Fondation de France is committed to changing perceptions and practices. It is behind the “Let’s Talk About Therapy” workshop, a large-scale public discussion in partnership with the Institut Montaigne that took place in eight French cities in 2018 and 2019. These workshops led to recommendations that were taken up during the Mental Health Convention in September 2021. Fondation de France continues these activities on a local level in the regions through “recovery workshops,” led in partnership with Santé Mentale France, a federation of medical caregivers, social workers and home carers.

In addition, Fondation de France supports projects designed for particularly vulnerable groups: young people (teens and students), the elderly, migrants who have had to cope with traumatic events and the victims of natural disasters or terror attacks.