About Ankra

Different paths. One shared mission.

Ankra brings together people from different backgrounds in care and support. We share one mission: to offer a point of reference to people living with chronic pain, complex or invisible illnesses, as well as the loved ones who support them.

Why Ankra exists

Journeys that became hard to tell

A complex healthcare journey quickly becomes hard to recount, organize, and make sense of — for yourself as much as for others. That is the observation from which Ankra was born.

Our founding text, "The Metaphor of the Boat After the Tsunami," gives voice to this reality: one morning, you wake up on board a boat you no longer recognize. Ankra comes aboard like a coastal pilot — to help you find your bearings again, never to take the helm.

Our mission

A point of reference

Supporting people living with chronic pain, complex or invisible illnesses, as well as their loved ones, to help them better understand their situation, clarify their needs, find their bearings again, and preserve their capacity to act within their own journey.

What unites us

Shared values

Respect the person and their paceEvery journey is unique; support adapts to it, never the other way around.

Foster autonomyThe person remains at the centre of decisions about their own journey.

Act with rigour and integrityDistinguishing what is established, what is a hypothesis, and what remains uncertain.

Protect dignity and confidentialityA confidential, non-judgmental space where lived experience is welcomed as it is.

A team, one shared mission

Different backgrounds, a common approach

Ankra brings together people from different backgrounds in care and support. Our paths, experiences, and skills may differ. What unites us is one shared mission, a common approach, and shared values. Each member works within the boundaries of their own role, experience, and competencies.

The origins of Ankra

A story that explains, without defining

Ankra was born from lived experience: navigating a complex healthcare journey, through specialists, tests, and treatments, while trying to keep living. That origin explains where the project came from — it does not define the organization Ankra has become.

For loved ones

We also support loved ones

Chronic, complex, or invisible illness also transforms the lives of those who surround the person. Ankra offers loved ones a space to understand, find their footing, and preserve their own bearings.

Discover our support for loved ones →

Meet us