From 7 to 15 February, the Council of Europe and European Union organised training sessions for 8 groups of prison directors and other non-medical personnel of the penitentiary system on managing prisoners with mental health problems. In total, up to 200 participants were trained from different prisons of East as well as West Georgia.

Participants learnt about different mental health related issues in prisons, including assessment and treatment approaches with psychiatric patients, medical examination upon admission to prison, psychiatric care and treatment plans, therapeutic and rehabilitative psychosocial activities in prison, etc.

A follow up to this training is planned within the next 6 months.

Prison staff who underwent the training have a better understanding of the mental health problems and needs of prisoners and are equipped with sufficient knowledge and skills to deal with them more effectively. Better understanding and management of prisoners with mental health problems by the staff is expected to improve the quality of life of both prisoners with mental disorders and the whole prison population as well as helps reducing stigma and discrimination that are often associated to mental health disorders. Ultimately, addressing the needs of people with mental disorders helps to increase their chances for more successful reintegration into the community after being released from the prison and reduce their likelihood for reoffending.

The training was part of the Council of Europe’s activities in support of improving the provision of mental health in Georgian prisons and other closed institutions. It was organised within the framework of the CoE/EU Eastern Partnership Programmatic Cooperation Framework Project “Human Rights and Healthcare in prisons and Other Closed Institutions in Georgia II”.

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