WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Workforce Development

WHO Collaborating Centre (CC) objectives

• Improve the education of health and other professionals for strengthening community mental health services (teams approach) in consultation with WHO.
• Contribute to WHO's work in the prevention of child abuse and neglect, as well as early recognition of mental health problems in childhood and youth.
• Contribute to WHO's work in the co-morbidity between mental and somatic disorders.

Contributions

The WHO CC takes responsibility for operation and collaboration with WHO in training health workers and other professionals working in the health care sector. The aim is to further develop mental health teams in local communities, protect children from abuse and neglect, and support families of people with mental disorders.

It also offers prevention activities, with special emphasis on the recognition of co-morbidity between mental and physical disorders and their intended treatment with interdisciplinary cooperation.

About the Institute of Mental Health (IMH)

IMH was founded in 1963 as the first psychiatric institution in the Balkans to employ a comprehensive psychosocial approach to treatment. The Research and Training Department coordinates research in numerous fields such as trauma, personality disorders, stress resilience, comorbidity, transgenerational transfer of traumatic experience and child abuse.