Prime Highlights-
- The Council of Europe and Armenia expanded cooperation on mental healthcare reform.
- The study visit focused on patient autonomy, crisis prevention, and community-based care.
Key Facts-
- The initiative forms part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2023–2026.
- Delegates studied the “zero seclusion, zero restraint” treatment model in France.
Background-
Council of Europe Works with Armenia on Mental Health Reform
The Council of Europe has deepened its work with Armenia to support reforms focused on the rights and autonomy of people living with mental health conditions as part of a broader push to transform the country’s healthcare system.
In the final week of April, a senior Armenian delegation led by Deputy Health Minister Armen Gasparyan travelled to northern France on a study visit, taking a closer look at progressive mental healthcare models and rights-based approaches to treatment.
The visit centred on practical ideas that could feed into Armenia’s ongoing reform process, covering multidisciplinary care teams, recovery programmes led by service users, crisis prevention, and better coordination between healthcare providers, housing services, and community support networks.
The delegation visited several institutions, including the World Health Organization collaborating centre for mental health and Lille University Hospital, where community-based care models showed how reducing hospital dependency can open up better prospects for independent living.
Patient autonomy and humane treatment ran as a thread throughout much of the visit. The group examined home-based crisis response models, rapid support mechanisms, and an approach centred on removing seclusion and restraint from mental health settings entirely.
Suicide prevention also had a place in the programme, with delegates looking at structured follow-up care and the contribution mental health helplines make in getting support to people quickly.
The work between the two parties is expected to help Armenia move toward a more inclusive, rights-centred mental healthcare system, while also building stronger professional connections with European institutions.
