Medical student Coen has a foundation on mental health: ‘Arose from own experience’

Although we seem to be more and more open about our mental health in recent years, there is still a taboo around having mental problems. To change this, medical student Coen Vulders (25) started the Open Book Nijmegen foundation. He tells about it.

“The purpose of the foundation Open book is to make mental problems among young people a subject of discussion. We do this by starting a dialogue between psychologists, young experts by experience and young people on topics such as loneliness, depression and eating problems.”

Born from own experience

The foundation originated from Coen’s own experience: “I myself was depressed for a while. I received therapy for that, where I watched e-learnings from fellow sufferers who experienced the same thing. I liked that, because I no longer had the feeling that I was the only one who had these kinds of problems. It gives a kind of acknowledgment of your complaints.”

“The sad thing about it was that all those people in the videos were over 50, while I was in my early twenties. There was talk about depression in relation to mortgages and children. Those topics were not relevant to me at all. Videos with people in my age group didn’t exist, so I decided to make them myself.”

Flying start

Coen started organizing a lecture. Two experts by experience shared their story and those present were allowed to ask anything. Two psychiatrists also participated in the conversation to debunk factual inaccuracies. “That evening was such a success that I immediately realized that there was a lot of demand for this. Then I started taking it more seriously.”

In no time, Coen had a board together to build the foundation of the foundation. “We organized more lectures and started making videos. The aim is to make them of such a high quality that we can offer them to specialists who work with young people with mental problems.”

Variety of topics

“Many organizations that make mental problems a subject of discussion focus on depression and burnouts. But there are many more types of problems: eating disorders and schizophrenia, for example. That is a less common diagnosis that you can find little about. Videos about this are a very valuable addition to the existing material.”

The more common topics are not sidelined by the Open Book Foundation. “We make videos about those kinds of problems in different contexts. We do this with experience experts from different cultures and backgrounds. For example, we increasingly provide customization per person and no universal solution is offered that does not apply to everyone.”

Across the border

In addition to the activities and collaborations with other initiatives in the Netherlands, the medical student focuses on Europe. “Through a European youth congress, I came into contact with others who want to commit themselves to this cause.” For example, Coen has already spoken with Hungarian and Slovenian young people who want to set up this initiative in their country. “It is great to see that the foundation is inspiring to others.”

Recognized student organization

The foundation is a great success: it is a recognized student organization of Radboud University. That is why the lectures can be held free of charge in rooms of the university and it remains possible for the foundation to offer the activities and videos free of charge.

High praise

Coen also receives a lot of praise from students. “It often happens that students come to me and tell me that what was said during a lecture helped them. Not only people who suffer from mental problems themselves, but also people who have someone in their environment with depression, for example, can benefit from it. It creates a kind of oil slick of people who dare to talk about problems. That is exactly what the foundation stands for.”