It’s the first mental health co-living centre in Portugal. The About the Self project was officially launched in June and is a well-being space in Alcabideche, in the municipality of Cascais, with 21 individual or shared villas that encourage a community spirit in a place where the aim is for everyone to feel good.
It’s a joint initiative between Bynd - Senior Residences, which already had a condominium with a nursing home operating there a few years ago, and Manicómio, a project specialising in combining mental health with artistic creation and creativity.
“It happened around the time of the pandemic, when we started to hear more about mental health,” explains About the Self director Mónica Mateus, who used to work at the Manicómio, to Time Out. “We created the concept and the methodology. Having emotional fragility or a mental illness cannot be a passport or sentence to a life without dignity and purpose. Through this project, we want to give people a new opportunity, to show their value and a community where they can have an active life, with experiences and meaning.”
Co-living is for people from very different circumstances. Whether it’s guests suffering from personality disorders or bipolar disorder who need constant monitoring, people with mild or moderate cognitive impairments, or anyone simply experiencing burnout and needing time to reorganise their lives in the best possible conditions.
“When it comes to burnout, we’ve created a specific corporate programme. The activities themselves and the therapeutic support are very much focussed on the process of returning to work, on what the person can do to prevent further burnout, and on knowing their limits. It’s always a very individualised approach, each case is different.”
Of the 40 places, 20 are reserved for long-term stays. Others may be more temporary: for example, a parent who has an underage child or young person in need of support but needs a few days’ rest could book a stay of just a few days.
About the Self offers psychological counselling, clinical intervention and psychomotor learning, but also provides access to a range of leisure and sporting activities: the facility has a cinema, a library, an indoor swimming pool and a multi-purpose gym. Staff members organise art workshops, yoga and mindfulness sessions and all types of therapeutic sessions in the resort’s green areas.
“There are no walls or closed rooms. We have an approach to construction, co-operation and an environment that in itself generates well-being. We work as a community in which everyone co-operates according to what they can offer. The aim is to be close to people, to create a relationship, and to be very non-institutional. Nobody wears uniforms, nobody is called a doctor, there is a more horizontal relationship with people,” explains Mónica Mateus, emphasising the “community experience”.
The daily fee –which includes all the activities and psychological counselling, but also food, laundry and cleaning– is €75. However, About the Self has established protocols with the likes of Cascais Town Hall, which allows residents to enjoy the programme’s activities during the day for a reduced price, given that Bynd waives its profit margin. A similar agreement is being finalised with the Oeiras municipality, among other partnerships. “They spend the day with us, have lunch and a snack is included; they also attend the rehabilitation activities programme.”
According to Mónica Mateus, Bynd - Senior Residences plans to open more projects of this kind in Portugal, also in partnership with Manicómio, namely in the centre of the country.
Rua das Camélias, 179, Alcabideche (Cascais)