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Council of Europe enhances skills of mental healthcare professionals and correctional staff on psychosocial programmes and rehabilitation methods

Mental healthcare professionals and correctional staff should constantly strengthen their practical knowledge and skills and be aware of international standards and good practice to be able to provide appropriate treatment to persons deprived of liberty.

Therefore, a three-day training on psychosocial programmes and rehabilitation methods took place from 1 to 3 July in Kosovo* nearby Dubrava Prison, facilitated by two Council of Europe subject matter experts.

A total of 30 mental healthcare professionals and correctional staff from the Institute for Forensic Psychiatry of Kosovo (IFPK), Kosovo Correctional Services (KCS), Prison Health Department (PHD), and the Special Institute for Persons with Learning and Physical Disabilities (SIS) as well as representatives of the Kosovo Probation Service and civil society were acquainted with several techniques to assist them in their daily work. Through case studies the participants raised their practical knowledge and awareness of staff burnout, assessment of prisoners and persons in other closed institutions and subsequent treatment, discharge and release planning, motivational interviewing and de-escalation techniques, and patient self-care and education.


 

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

 

* All references to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions, or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United National Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.

The participants also shared their experiences and learned from one another, whilst sharing institutional best practices in the process and strengthening the cooperation between their institutions.

As a sign of appreciation of the Council of Europe’s work and good partnership, the Director General of KCS, and the Heads of the PHD and the SIS expressed their gratitude to the Council of Europe for all the efforts and dedication in improving the skills and knowledge of their staff for a better treatment of persons in closed institutions.

DUBRAVA 1-3 July 2024
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Fifty practitioners to enhance skills in provision of occupational therapy

Following the adoption of the Guidelines for Occupational Therapy (OT), as well as the Training of Trainers (ToT) on OT that took place in January 2024, three 2-day cascade training sessions were organised in the course of February and March 2024.  Fifty professionals, mainly from the Prison Health Department, along with representatives from the Correctional Services, Institute for Forensic Psychiatry, and the Special Institute for Persons with Mental and Physical Disabilities, were trained on this important form of therapy.

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.

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, a concept which was thus far not utilised in a structured manner. Furthermore, training healthcare and correctional professionals together helps them further strengthen the inter-institutional cooperation in the treatment and rehabilitation of some of the most vulnerable members of the society.

Each of these sessions were facilitated by two trainers who had participated in the ToT in January and were supervised and mentored by a Council of Europe consultant who has been involved in the process since the very beginning, thus further strengthening institutional capacity to provide training.

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

 

 

*All references to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions, or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United National Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.

Istog/ Istok 26 March 2024
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