On 28-29 August 2024, the Forum on “Effective Work of Psychologists as an Essential Part of Prison System Reform” was held in Kyiv. The event was organised jointly by the Council of Europe Project “Towards More Humane Detention Conditions and Reduced Reoffending in Ukraine (DECOPRIS)” and the EU Project “Pravo-Justice”. The Forum gathered around 120 participants working in prisons across Ukraine.

The Forum focused on four key areas:

•        Working with inmates prone to self-harm and manipulative behaviour,

•        Psychological counselling of persons experiencing a crisis,

•        Psychologist training: developing skills for conducting training sessions,

•        Motivating inmates to change.

Leading international and national consultants of the Council of Europe and the EU Project “Pravo-Justice” introduced the participants to up-to-date tools and practices essential for their work, analysed critical cases and atypical situations, and discussed response algorithms. The two-day Forum provided a valuable platform for skill development and experience exchange among prison psychologists.

The participants gained practical insights that will help them enhance psychological support and rehabilitation efforts for inmates in Ukraine. The Forum marked a significant step in Ukraine's prison system reform, highlighting the crucial role of psychological support in shifting from punitive to rehabilitative approaches in the treatment of prisoners.