In
1966 an international, multi-disciplinary project, designed to examine
the Geel system and community, was begun with Dr. Leo Srole, a Columbia
University sociologist, as Project Director. The research team,
composed of almost 100 people, was recruited from Belgium’s
University of Leuven, Rijkskolonie staff, Columbia University and
resident laymen from Geel. The ten year Project was ambitious
with forty component study units, in six main clusters, designed to
investigate: 1) Geel’s history, 2) patient composition and
changes in Geel, 3) foster family structure and process, 4) foster
family policies and practices of the Rijkskolonie as an institution, 5)
Geel’s role as the “embracing extramural
surround” of
the families and their boarders, and 6) ambivalent images of Geel among
non-Geel residents and mental health professionals. For further details see:
Goldstein, J. (August
1998). "The Geel Project": Historical perspectives
on community mental health care. Paper presented at
106th American Psychological Association Annual Convention, San
Francisco, CA. Talk
During the life of the
Geel Research Project, Project Director Leo
Srole, who was still on faculty at Columbia University, made at least
one visit a year to Geel and came to know and be known by all manner of
project participants and Geel residents. During this time
boarder
/ patient Jean Michel Denys, a talented artist, painted this portrait
of Dr. Srole.
