Following a successful delivery of cascade trainings on occupational therapy (OT) in February and March this year and based on a request of the project partners and beneficiaries, three additional trainings of two days each on this important form of therapy were organised between August and October 2024.

The total number of healthcare and correctional professionals from the Prison Health Department of the Ministry of Health, Correctional Service, Institute for Forensic Psychiatry, and the Special Institute for Persons with Mental and Physical Disabilities thus trained has now reached 125.

Each of the cascade trainings, which follow the adoption of the Guidelines for OT, was delivered by a different pair of local trainers who underwent the Training of Trainers on OT in January 2024. The trainings allowed the local trainers not only to strengthen the skills of their trainees but also to put to practice their own competences in delivering trainings to their peers. The trainers were supervised and mentored by a Council of Europe consultant who was supporting them with advice throughout the training. 

To complement the theoretical aspects and provide the trainees with practical knowledge, some of the sessions were conducted in the Dubrava Prison, in a section which houses prisoners with both mental and somatic problems. This on-site training allowed the participants to observe and understand the application of OT principles in a real-life setting, thus enhancing their learning experience by connecting theory and practice. Moreover, these cascade training sessions allowed the participants to further improve their skills in applying the OT Guidelines and tools in prisons and other closed institutions.

Along with institutional capacity building, the trainings also helped consolidate further the institutional cooperation in treatment and rehabilitation of some of the most vulnerable members of the society.

The activity was conducted under the auspices of the Council of Europe project “Improvement of the treatment of persons deprived of liberty”.

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