Capacity building with a focus on effective communication skills is intended to help refugee healthcare professionals to address complex situations and build productive relationships at workplace and beyond.

Refugee healthcare professionals have found themselves in a new environment with many challenges  to overcome on the way of integration, in addition to the trauma of the hardships brought on by the situation in Karabakh region in 2023. The challenges may emerge both on personal and professional levels daily.

The Council of Europe, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia and the National Institute of Health of the Republic of Armenia, has been actively engaged in identifying the psychological needs of refugee healthcare professionals and provision of targeted support on the way of their professional and social integration.  

Psychological support activities with a focus on communication skills have been designed and delivered for several groups of healthcare professionals with involvement of the Council of Europe experts between July and November 2024.

Training sessions have been concentrated on empowering refugees with soft skills which will help them address difficult situations and establish successful interpersonal relations. 

The participants learned about effective patient-centred communication, explored different methods of communication, and practiced public speaking and self-representation, covering both theoretical and practical aspects. 

The training equipped participants with tools to address challenges arising during interaction with difficult patients, while also strengthened their ability to navigate through other challenging situations on the way of social integration.  

The capacity building events were organised by the Council of Europe as part of its Project on “Protection of Human Rights in Biomedicine II” implemented within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2023-2026.