As part of the project “Regionalising LGBTI inclusive psychosocial support and access to mental health services in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, funded by the European Union, two one-day trainings will be held in Banja Luka on September 30 and October 1, 2021, organized by Sarajevo Open Centre. The trainings are on the topic of providing LGBTI … Continued
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Within the project “Regionalising LGBTI inclusive psychosocial support and access to mental health services in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, two-day training on peer-to-peer counseling and provision of inclusive psychosocial support and mental health services for LGBTI persons was held in Zenica on July 12 and 13, organized by Sarajevo Open Centre. The training was attended by … Continued
Within the project “Regionalising LGBTI inclusive psychosocial support and access to mental health services in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, a two-day training on peer-to-peer counselling and provision of inclusive psychosocial support and mental health services for LGBTI persons was held in Zenica on July 12 and 13, organized by Sarajevo Open Centre.
The training was attended by members of the Association Centar ženskih prava (Women’s Rights Centre) from Zenica, with whom Sarajevo Open Centre and the Wings of Hope Foundation, among other organizations throughout BiH, will work to strengthen capacities for providing sensitized psychological support to LGBTI persons. In this regard, Centar ženskih prava will work on strengthening its own capacities to provide inclusive psychosocial support, and LGBTI persons, in case of further need for psychological and psychotherapeutic help, will be able to turn to an expert from the Centre.
The Centre’s employees, lawyers and psychologists, expressed the need for additional sensitization regarding the work with the LGBTI community, in order to contribute to the protection of their mental health and the provision of comprehensive psychosocial support.
Like previous trainings for public institutions (mental health centres and centres for social work) and civil society organizations, this training has been designed to address the legal situation of human rights protection of LGBTI people in BiH, peer counselling, as well as practical guidelines for inclusive treatment and supporting the LGBTI community, through concrete examples from practice, that will especially benefit organizations in building LGBTI support services.
Part of the training was also human library, during which the participants had the opportunity to talk to a bisexual person about everyday challenges and difficulties they face in BH society. SOC and Wings of Hope as partners in this project offer their knowledge and experience in these fields.
The project “Regionalising LGBTI inclusive psychosocial support and access to mental health services in Bosnia and Herzegovina” is funded by the European Union and implemented by Sarajevo Open Centre, with the Wings of Hope Foundation from Sarajevo, which as the project partner seeks to improve social inclusion and strengthening of women, children, youth and other vulnerable groups, by promoting and protecting human rights, mental health and support in education. The aim of the project is to create an environment in which LGBTI persons will be encouraged and supported in accessing social care and mental health systems that provide inclusive and sensitized services. In order to provide LGBTI persons with access to such support, it is necessary to raise capacities of social protection and mental health institutions and to expand the institutional network of psychosocial support. It is also necessary to strengthen the capacities of civil society organisations dealing with the provision of this type of services and to train their staff on LGBTI topics.
For more information about the project, please contact:
Delila Hasanbegović Vukas, Programme Coordinator, Sarajevo Open Centre
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Within the project “Regionalising LGBTI inclusive psychosocial support and access to mental health services in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, a two-day training on peer-to-peer counselling and provision of inclusive psychosocial support and mental health services for LGBTI persons was held in Prijedor on July 1 and 2, organized by Sarajevo Open Centre. The training was … Continued
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Two one-day trainings on LGBTI inclusive psychosocial support and mental health services were held in Zenica on June 10 and 11 as part of the European Union-funded project “Regionalising LGBTI Inclusive Psychosocial Support and Access to Mental Health Services in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” hosted by Sarajevo Open Centre. The participants were employees of the mental … Continued
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