TEJO offers accessible, therapeutic assistance to young people between the ages of 10 and 20 in Flanders, short-term, immediate, anonymous, and free of charge. The services are provided by professional therapists on a voluntary basis.
Mission & Vision
“Helping young people on their way to adulthood”
They all work for a short period of time from their own therapeutic framework. The main objective of the therapy is to unblock the young people and to put them back in their power. In this way, TEJO responds preventively to urgent requests for help so that the problem situation does not escalate further and the young people are helped at an early stage. TEJO offers young people a 'pedagogical place' where they are listened to in peace. In this way, TEJO contributes to solving the long waiting lists that exist in health care for young people. Furthermore, the TEJO project wants to contribute to the social movement that appeals to the solidarity and commitment of the entire society to share responsibility for the personal well-being of all young people so that they are given the necessary growth opportunities to become beautiful adults.
Target Audience
TEJO welcomes children and young people between the ages of 10 and 20, regardless of culture, language, religion, skin colour or orientation.
However, TEJO wants to be there first and foremost for the most socially vulnerable young people, for young people who, without TEJO, for various reasons, do not have access to therapeutic help, for whom a private therapist is unaffordable.
TEJO also wants to be there for those young people who want to come to them anonymously, because of a difficult or unsafe home situation, young people whose parents are not allowed to know that they are coming to TEJO for therapy. At TEJO, young people do not need permission from their parents.
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TEJO organisation in Flanders
On March 13, 2010, the first TEJO house opened its doors in the center of Antwerp. In the meantime, they work from 20 TEJO houses in Flanders and 3 TEJO houses in the Netherlands with +/- 700 volunteers.
Since May 9, the umbrella organization vzw TEJO Vlaanderen and the Fonds Vrienden van TEJO (KBS) have been established. All TEJO houses meet monthly to exchange 'best practices', to discuss the therapeutic process of the young people and to create support for the joint mission and vision of TEJO in Flanders. Together they want to shape a social movement that appeals to the solidarity and commitment of the entire society to share responsibility for the personal well-being of all young people so that they are given the necessary growth opportunities to become beautiful adults.
The TEJO Charter
On 20 November 2009 (anniversary of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of 20 November 1989), the non-profit organisation Youth Therapists Without Borders was founded. On 13 March 2010, the first TEJO house opened its doors in Antwerp. Since 2014, many other cities, municipalities and regions have followed suit.
TEJO, Therapists for Young People, is an independent citizens' initiative of voluntary, expert care providers who hold the rights of young people in high regard.
TEJO starts from the basic principles laid down in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and in the Flemish Decree of 7 May 2004 on the legal position of minors in integrated youth care: the prohibition of discrimination, the interests of the child, the right to life, survival and development of the child, the right to participation and the right to care.
Based on the current need for care, TEJO provides targeted and timely therapeutic care, in addition to regular care. TEJO offers a social alternative to the increased demand from young people with mental health problems.
Core Function and Concepts
In addition to this core function of additional therapeutic care, TEJO continues to act as a pioneer, together with regular care providers and other actors from the youth care field, in search of the right, innovative care that meets the current needs of young people based on shared experiences.
From its signalling function, TEJO, also in dialogue with other actors in youth care, draws the attention of the government and all citizens to the real need for high-quality, targeted and timely therapeutic care for young people. Furthermore, TEJO contributes to the social movement that appeals to the solidarity and commitment of the entire society to share responsibility for the personal well-being of all young people, so that they are given the necessary growth opportunities to become beautiful adults.
TEJO invites everyone to become aware of their attitude in dealing with young people, an attitude with more space, understanding and positive attention for young people. The aim is for them to feel sincerely heard and supported by adults, so that in the long term fewer young people will need therapy.
