State Association of People with Lived Experience of Psychiatry Bremen eV.

We are members of the Federal Association of People with Lived Experience of Psychiatry (BPE). Our members hold dual memberships.

We are a non-profit association of people with lived experience of mental illness (affected individuals) and aim to achieve improvements in psychiatric care without coercion or violence in treatment.
Our members are represented on various committees and working groups, such as the Visiting Committee and the State Psychiatric Committee. We are actively involved in the implementation of the psychiatric reform (resolution passed by the Hamburg Parliament in 2013).

We want to abolish the "special laws" for the mentally ill; fundamental rights should also apply to psychiatric patients, and medications (psychotropic drugs) should be used more cautiously. We are critical of involuntary treatment with antipsychotics (neuroleptics), as well as restraints to the bed.
We want to significantly restrict these coercive measures through amendments to the Mental Health Act. Furthermore, every person placed in a psychiatric hospital by court order should be entitled to at least one hour of daily outdoor leave, as this constitutes a deprivation of liberty.

We aim to increasingly employ former patients with additional training (EX-IN) in psychiatric care. We collaborate with EXPA eV on this. Anyone interested in our work is welcome to attend our meetings or contact us by email or phone. We also offer advice and support to those seeking help.

Our meetings

Monthly public meetings are held at the "Wichernhaus" day center,
located at Am Dobben 112, 28203 Bremen.
It can be reached by tram lines 1, 4, and 10, and bus line 25. The stop is "Am Dobben." Meetings take place
on the first Monday of every month from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Anyone interested is welcome to attend our monthly meetings, even without membership.