The European Union and Council of Europe are working together with the Directorate General of Prison Administration to raise awareness and knowledge amongst professionals in the Albanian prison service on the Council of Europe standards concerning mental health disorders and suicide prevention.

A 2-day training was held in Tirana on 8 and 9 November 2021, with the participation of 34 psychologist and educators coming from all over Albania,

The training was conceptualised to combine academic knowledge with practical exercises. The training was tailored to the Albanian context with real life scenarios taken by the Albanian prison hospital and the prison setting. Delivered by an international and a national consultant, the discussions covered important topics such as international standards on inmates with mental health disorders; mental health screening on admission to prison; anxiety and mood disorders presentation and discussion; psychotic disorders; women specific mental health needs; posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); personality disorders (PD); substance use disorders; medical ethics; interventions at the transition from prison to community.

In addition, to discuss with albanian prison staff the standards in detecting, reporting, referring and preventing self-harm and suicide in prisons, a training was held in Tirana during 10 - 11 November 2021 for a multidisciplinary team of 34 prison staff coming from different prisons in Albania.

The training offered not only theoretical knowledge but also practical aspects which were collected in the form of feedback from simulation exercises. Interesting discussions took place during role play exercises between security officers and medical staff.

Trained staff are projected to serve in the future as focal points in different prison facilities concerning suicide prevention. A dedicated ToT on suicide prevention signs and first help is planned to take place with security staff in the following months.

These activities were organised within the scope of the action “Enhancing the protection of human rights of prisoners in Albania”, as a part of joint initiative of the European Union and Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.