Yes We Can Youth Clinics

Yes We Can Youth Clinics (YWCC) is a Dutch private youth rehabilitation clinic based in Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands, providing residential and outpatient treatment programmes for adolescents and young adults aged 13 to 27 experiencing addiction, behavioural, and mental health difficulties. The clinic was founded in 2010 by Jan Willem Poot and has grown into one of the largest youth rehabilitation providers in the Netherlands, contracted by 355 Dutch municipalities and partnered with all major Dutch health insurers.

The organisation offers inpatient treatment at its Hilvarenbeek facility and intensive outpatient day treatment in Eindhoven. Its treatment model incorporates elements of addiction recovery, experiential counselling, group confrontation sessions, and family-focused interventions.

In 2026, the clinic became the subject of public controversy following allegations from former patients and employees broadcast on the Dutch investigative television programme BOOS, presented by Tim Hofman. The Dutch Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) subsequently launched a formal investigation into the quality and safety of care at the facility.

History

Yes We Can Clinics was founded in 2010 by Jan Willem Poot and Petra Poot. Jan Willem Poot, who has spoken publicly AbOUT his own earlier experiences with addiction and behavioural difficulties, established the clinic drawing on his experience and best practices from other treatment centres, working alongside a team of healthcare professionals. The clinic was conceived as a specialist treatment centre for young people for whom conventional mental health services had proved ineffective.

The organisation expanded rapidly in its early years. In 2011 it operated with 25 beds; by 2013 it had moved to a facility accommodating 85 beds; it subsequently moved again to a clinic with 160 beds. The clinic is now part of the Yes We Can Healthcare Group and is described as the largest youth clinic of its kind in the Netherlands.

Treatment approach

Yes We Can Clinics uses a treatment method drawn from addiction care, in which experiential expertise and confrontation are central components of treatment for a range of conditions including addiction, trauma, depression, and autism. The clinic places emphasis on unconditional warmth, safety, and confrontation at the right time as pivotal elements, and draws on group dynamics to build motivation for change among patients, who are referred to internally as "fellows".

Programmes include daily group sessions, multiple individual sessions per week, psychoeducation, various evidence-based therapies, and a minimum of three hours of sports and outdoor activities per day. A parallel family programme provides coaching and counselling for parents and carers, aimed at restoring trust and family relationships.

The multidisciplinary team includes psychiatrists, registered clinical psychologists, experiential counsellors (staff who have themselves experienced similar difficulties), youth coaches, family therapists, and nursing staff. The clinic reports that 74% of fellows no longer require specialist care after completing the programme.

BOOS investigation (2026)

In April 2026, the Dutch investigative television programme BOOS, presented by Tim Hofman and broadcast on BNNVARA, aired an episode based on testimony from more than 80 former clients and over 20 former employees of the Hilvarenbeek facility. Former residents described regular encounters with bullying, humiliation, and mental pressure during treatment, with some reporting that they left the clinic in a worse condition than when they arrived.

Experts featured in the programme questioned the scientific basis of the clinic's therapeutic model, particularly the use of experiential counsellors without formal clinical qualifications in leading treatment sessions. The Dutch Youth Institute (NJi) expressed doubt about the method, stating that it is not applicable to the wide range of different problems presented by patients, characterising it as a "one size fits all" approach.

Regulatory response

Following the broadcast, the Dutch Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) launched a formal investigation into the quality and safety of care at Yes We Can Clinics. The investigation involves requesting documents and conducting on-site visits, during which inspectors speak with executives, staff, therapists, parents, and patients. According to Omroep Brabant, it is unusual for the inspectorate to comment publicly on an ongoing investigation.

Health insurers VGZ, Menzis, and CZ stated they were shocked by the accounts and entered talks with the clinic. The Association of Dutch Municipalities called for stricter supervision and enforcement in youth care, stating that the signals emerging from the case demonstrated that the current system requires better oversight.

Response from Yes We Can Clinics

Yes We Can Clinics issued a public apology for the experiences of young people who described their treatment as painful or as crossing BOUNDARIES. The organisation stated that it had contacted the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate and would review its own methods and identify what needed improvement.