Mental Health Foundation Sint Maarten

The Mental Health Foundation, with the Community Development, Family & Humanitarian Affairs department, highlights the continued success and growth of its Community Help Desk initiative, read more via:

MHF and CDFHA expand access to community mental health care | St. Maarten Mental Health Foundation The Mental Health Foundations Community Help Desk initiative is transforming mental health care in Sint Maarten by bringing accessible, stigma-reducing support directly into communities and expanding its reach following strong early success.

This World Health Day focuses on the importance of equitable access to health services, strengthening health systems, and overall health and well-being for all—key priorities reflected in the work shared here: https://shorturl.at/s5JrG

Today, we are joining the world in celebrating World Autism Awareness Day, celebrating the dignity and worth of each autistic individual and advocating for inclusion and acceptance. Learn more here: https://shorturl.at/hHkjD

From feeling heard to experiencing real progress, learn what our clients are saying about their care, read the full article:

MHF conducts client survey to strengthen quality of care | St. Maarten Mental Health Foundation The Mental Health Foundations latest client evaluation highlights high levels of satisfaction, with clients emphasizing compassionate care, active listening, and meaningful personal progress.

The Ombudsman Sint Maarten team recently visited MHF for an introductory meeting and to receive an overview of our organization and its services, we thank them for taking the time to meet with us!

Happy International Women’s Day! 💜
This year’s theme, “Give To Gain,” is a reminder that every act of support, mentorship, respect and opportunity helps women thrive...and when women thrive, communities thrive too.

We recently participated in a health screening event at NIPA, supporting efforts to encourage early detection, healthy habits and open conversations about physical and mental well-being among students and staff.
Read more:

MHF participates in health screening event at NIPA | St. Maarten Mental Health Foundation The Mental Health Foundation partnered in a collaborative campus health screening at the National Institute for Professional Advancement, promoting early mental health awareness, preventive screening and student wellbeing through interprofessional collaboration.

Two of our Social Psychiatric Workers delivered an engaging presentation yesterday at the Sint Maarten Academy High School Health Fair. They spoke with students about stress, what triggers it and healthy coping mechanisms for managing it as a high school student.
MHF thanks Sint Maarten Academy for inviting our team to be part of this important initiative.
Read more: https://shorturl.at/i5MKO

MHF was happy to recently welcome psychiatrist Dr. Glenn Matroos, one of the early pioneers of psychiatry on Sint Maarten, during his visit to the island. Together with our rotational psychiatrist, Dr. Heijtel, he toured our facilities with Medical Director Dr. van Gaalen and MHF psychiatrists Dr. Monier and Dr. Teixeira.

Intern Spotlight
We recently said goodbye to one of our recent interns, Aicha Bouallouch, after she completed a six-week internship at the Mental Health Foundation. She finished her time with us by delivering an informative presentation, where she shared two new brochures she helped develop for clients and their families, focusing on schizophrenia, and cannabis & mental health.

Reflecting on her experience, Aicha shared that she gained valuable exposure to a wide range of psychiatric conditions and said how meaningful it was to better understand the nuance of mental health care and the importance of seeing the person beyond the diagnosis.

MHF is grateful for her contributions and we wish her all the best as she begins the next chapter of her medical career!
(In photo Aicha and her supervisor, Dr. Teixeira are seen with the new brochures)