Koen Westen works as a lecturer at the Academy for Welfare, Education and Health and within the Research Group on End-of-Life Care at Avans University of Applied Sciences. He is also a senior researcher for his research line Recovery-Oriented Network Care in Mental Health at Reinier van Arkel. Koen has completed several educational programs, including a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing, a post‑bachelor degree in Community Mental Health (SPV), and a Master’s degree in Social Work and Innovation. Since 2001, he has worked in various clinical and community-based roles within addiction care and mental health services. With expertise in IDDT, (F)ACT, CTI, and community-based care, he developed into a trainer and coach within the programmes Social Work, MGZ‑GGZ, Nursing, and the Master’s programmes Advanced Nursing Practice and Health & Design. In addition to his teaching activities, Koen contributes actively to quality development in mental health care, nationally and internationally, through his roles as vice-chair of the CCAF, board member of the EAOF, and member of EuComs and GACTA. As an independent mental health consultant, he supports teams and organisations in implementing and improving FACT and community-based care. His expertise focuses on care coordination between the social domain and mental health services, quality development, and community-based work; topics on which he regularly publishes. His completed PhD focused on improving the quality of FACT teams through model‑fidelity‑based working. In his research, he concentrates on FACT, community‑oriented quality improvement, and the use of lived experience in mental health care. Within the research group, he specifically focuses on improving palliative care for people with severe mental illness.