The legend and lessons of Geel, Belgium: a 1500-year-old legend, a 21st-century model.

Geel, Belgium, is the home of a legendary system of foster family care for the mentally ill. The current status of Geel's modern system of integrated community care and the 700-year history of this system (including the 10-year-long, international, multi-disciplinary Geel Research Project) are described. As a case study, Geel offers a microcosmic encapsulation of major issues related to mental illness. Though these issues have been dealt with across time and in all places, here they are contained in a single community. This is a case study that can help other communities to identify significant factors that contribute to successful community mental health programs.