In the region of ex-Yugoslavia, mental health problems represent a burning issue. Taking in consideration the fact that this region was struck by war, poverty and isolation, it is not hard to believe that mental health problems are amongst first according to the number of people suffering from them. The psychiatric system is still on a very low level of development, big, isolated asylums where hundreds of people spend their lives still exist, and medical model is still the predominant one. High dosages of pharmaceutical drugs, no psychotherapy, forced hospitalizations, are only a few of many human rights violations to which these societies are disposing their vulnerable members. In the society, stigma and fear, prejudice and wrong attitudes and behaviors are everyday reality of psychiatric care users. They have been abandoned by their families and their surroundings and have no possibility of integration into the community. Only a couple of years ago, the Mental health reforms started more or less at the same time in these ex-Yugoslavian countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia), decades after other parts of Europe. The Hearing Voices movement is an international movement that offers an alternative to strictly medical treatment and understanding of mental health problems through organization of support and educational activities. In 2015. the West Balkan Hearing Voices Network was established as one part of the International Hearing Voices Network, now active in more then 30 countries all over the world. Representatives of this regional Network are NGO Prostor from Belgrade, Serbia, coordinator in this project and two partners- NGO Kralji Ulice from Ljubljana, Slovenia and Dom Turnic, home for people with mental health problems from Rijeka, Croatia. Main objective of this project is to create conditions for the improvement of the delivery of educational and support activities in the field of community psychiatry and the Hearing Voices approach in the region, strengthen the West Balkan Hearing Voices Network through strategic partnership between it's three representatives, ensuring stable financing for a common exchange program, educational and dissemination activities and regular meetings of the Network. Specific objectives: to empower learners/ trainers, especially psychiatric care users through regular meetings with peers from other countries, with more possibilities for embracing good human rights based European practices, improve the quality of service delivery in this field, improving the work of existing groups and creating conditions for starting new groups in the region, by introducing new members, experts by experience and professionals and volunteers as well, and of course raising awareness on this subject in the region through dissemination activities and publications. Project activities/ results: 1) Short term staff training events- knowledge and practice exchange meetings between group members from all 3 partner countries with the objective to exchange knowledge and experience in the delivery of community services and educational activities within the Hearing Voices approach and to strengthen the partnership through common efforts and thorough planning of future partnership strategy between all group members/ actors involved in the delivery of these services and educational activities in each country. 2) Transnational meetings 3) Public educational events, held in public spaces in all 3 countries (educational and psychiatric institutions- universities and hospitals, as well as in the community). Main target groups for these events are: experts by experience, professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers, nurses, occupational therapists, etc), students, volunteers, family and friends of people who experienced psychiatric treatment or hear voices, have unusual experiences and beliefs. 4) Country coordinator meetings during the project in order to monitor the project course and make sure everything is carried out according to the plan. 5) Publications: one book, leaflets, educational materials. The book with the working title »West Balkan Hearing Voices Network« will consist of existing articles, published by different Hearing Voices network members as well as articles written by present project's participants. The book will be published in three versions, in Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian language, with the same core content (contributions) present in all three versions of the book, and eventually some additional country specific material. 6) Dissemination activities- media, distribution of promotional material, social media aiming to raise awareness on this subject and on the EU Erasmus + program as well. 7) Presentations of the publication in three countries. Project participants: 5 experts by experience (psychiatric care users) from each country as well as 3 professionals/ supporters. 24 participants in total.
The West Balkan Hearing Voices Network project lasted from October 2018. until October 2020. It was carried out by association Prostor from Belgrade, Serbia in partnership with Dom Turnic, Rijeka, Croatia and Kralji Ulice, Ljubljana, Slovenia, all founder members of the regional Hearing Voices Network. Hearing Voices is an alternative approach to treatment of mental health issues, and a global movement that gathers the national Networks in more then 30 countries- the International Hearing Voices Network. The main goal was to strengthen the regional Network, empower the partnership, improve the work of Hearing Voices self-help groups in each country, as well as their organizational skills, regarding educational programs, and public awareness events. Since the mental health system in Serbia in on a rather low level of development, especially regarding the human rights of psychiatric care users and the development of community services, in this project the participants from Prostor had an opportunity to improve their practice through 2 short courses delivered by the teams from Croatia and Slovenia, as well as through 1 transnational meeting held in the beginning of the project in Rijeka, on the occasion of the annual festival of mental health- „Mentalfest“. Main target group were the users of psychiatric services who participate regularly in the community services delivered by partners, and are members or facilitators of the local Hearing Voices groups. A part from them, also volunteers and professionals, community supporters took equal part as participants and trainers (7 participants from Serbia, 8 from Croatia and 8 from Slovenia). A part from them, the project had an indirect impact on all psychiatric care users in partner countries, their families, students and professionals from related fields (psychology, psychiatry, psychotherapy, social work, etc.), as well as institutions and CSOs in the region, through dissemination activities. The first training (C1 LTT) took place in Slovenia, since this country has a more developed approach toward the treatment of mental health problems and the socio-cultural context is more in line with human right laws in this field, comparing to the situation in Serbia especially, but Croatia as well. It took place in April 2019, 15 people participated. The main result was the exchange of experiences in organizing peer-support groups with people who hear voices or/and have other similar experiences. It gave us possibility to hear and learn from each other, since the groups develop in the similar context. An important added value was the presence of Dirk Corstens and Slobodanka Popovic (important actors in the Hearing Voices movement, trainers and psychotherapists) who enriched the training content with some new techniques and insights, as well as strategies for better group facilitation and implementation of these methods in the community mental health practice in the region. Due to Covid-19, we were prevented from carrying the C2 LTT in Rijeka as planned. We managed to organize an online training that lasted 1 day due to the restrictions in public gatherings. It took place in June 2020, 22 people participated. The Croatian team carried out a quality training, all learning goals were achieved, participants from Serbia gained new knowledge and ideas on how to run and facilitate their groups. The 1st meeting was held according to project application plan. It was organized on the occasion of "Mentalfest" in Rijeka, under the title "Psychiatric user conference", and was one of the main activities of the festival. The goal was to provide participants with an opportunity to exchange their expertise and opinion within groups and to explore individual needs and expectations of all participants regarding the activities and goals of this project. The 2nd meeting was held online due to Covid-19. Jus Skraban on behalf of Kralji Ulice, Alenka Vondra Butigan on behalf of Dom Turnic and Mina Aleksic on behalf of Prostor participated. It was held on 4th of July 2020, and it lasted one day. On this meeting we went through all activities, discussing the outcomes and results, some obstacles and how we overcame them, what we learned from our mistakes. We also discussed the effects of Covid-19 on our project and our ways of overcoming it and fulfilling the project goals. The main dissemination activities included the „Mentalfest“ in Rijeka, public lectures and press conference, as well as the promotion of the book on Hearing Voices in Ljubljana, and lecture in the Psychiatry Clinic in the Clinical Center of Serbia, in Belgrade. The promotion of the book „Nas glas“ („Our voice“), produced by all partners, and published by Prostor was promoted in all countries, the book attracted the media, so many people reported to have seen the TV appearances in all countries, these videos were also available on YouTube so even more people had the chance to hear about this project.