From 30 October to 1 November, the Council of Europe (CoE) international experts  conducted a 3-day training session  for prison staff on managing prisoners with mental health problems.

Participants were provided with in-depth knowledge about: assessment & treatment approaches to patients with mental health problems, medical examination upon admission to prison, suicide & self-harm prevention and other mental health related issues in prison.

This activity is a part of the European Union and the Council of Europe joint action that aims at improving the provision of mental health in Georgian prisons.

According to the World Health Organisation, an estimated 450 million people worldwide suffer from mental or behavioural disorders. These disorders are especially prevalent in prison population. Many of the disorders may be present before admission to prison, and may be further exacerbated by the stress of imprisonment. However, mental disorders may also develop during imprisonment itself as a negative consequence of prison life that can be aggravated by poor detention conditions, overly restrictive regimes, lack of contact with the outside world or possible violence experienced from other inmates or eventually from staff members. Addressing the needs of people with mental disorders helps their smoother return into the society and supports their chances to lead crime-fee lives in the future.

This seminar has been 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”.