The Reakiro Care Model for Persons With a Chronic Death Wish: An Epidemiological Study

Reakiro is a walk-in, care and expertise center for persons with severe, chronic psychiatric illness and a persisting death wish, leading to chronic suicidality and/or a euthanasia request. The aim is to introduce the Reakiro model, integrating principles from presence theory, recovery-oriented care, existential therapy, and palliative care, and to describe the population visiting Reakiro ( N = 505). 55.4% had not (or not yet) formally requested euthanasia. 13.9% were in a euthanasia evaluation procedure and a minority finished the procedure (2.0% granted, 2.2% denied). A majority (63.4%) matched with two or more categories in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V). Depressive (54.3%), personality (35.4%), and trauma-related disorders (28.7%) were most prevalent. Compared with previous Belgian samples of persons requesting psychiatric euthanasia, the Reakiro sample shows similar distribution of sex, age, and prevalence of mood and personality disorders. The sample differs in showing a higher prevalence of trauma-related disorders.