Content
Description
Within the project Mind the Child: Together for Every Child’s Mental Wellbeing, the second phase focuses on the implementation of professional training programmes for practitioners working across the education, health, and social protection systems.
The training programmes have been developed based on findings from research conducted in 2025 and presented at the conference “Mind the Child” on 18 December 2025. The findings highlighted fragmented system responses, gaps in specialized knowledge and skills in the area of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), inconsistent referral pathways, and the need to strengthen sustainable support mechanisms, including care for professionals.
The programmes are aligned with the UNICEF MHPSS framework, the Sarajevo Declaration on the Mental Health of Children and Youth, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and other relevant international standards. The training is designed to strengthen a coordinated, trauma-informed, and developmentally responsive system approach, with a particular emphasis on the continuum of care—from targeted non-specialized to specialized MHPSS services—supported by clear coordination and referral mechanisms.
By strengthening intersectoral collaboration and integrating reflective supervision, the training contributes to the development of a safe, ethical, and child-centred response in crisis and emergency contexts.acijama.
Target Group
- Level 1 – Targeted Non-Specialized MHPSS Support
Professionals and other personnel who are not mental health specialists but provide structured psychosocial support in line with MHPSS standards, including teachers, pedagogues, social workers, health professionals, youth workers, helpline counsellors, and other relevant actors. - Level 2 – Specialized MHPSS Services
Psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, as well as specialized services and centres for child and adolescent mental health.
Training coordination and organisational support are provided by Dželila Mulić Čorbo, Dipl. psychologist and Psychotherapist, with extensive experience working within child protection systems and in intersectoral collaboration.
Operational and logistical support to the project is provided by Adi Grebović, BA in Economics, Project Administrative Assistant.
The project is led by Mirela Badurina, PhD, Psychotherapist, Trainer and Supervisor, Founder and Director of BHIDAPA, with extensive experience in developing training programmes, support systems, and initiatives in the field of child and adolescent mental health.
1. Supporting Children and Young People During and After Crisis
Duration
Two cycles consisting of five thematic modules each:
- 22.1.2026–19.2.2026. –Agenda for Group 1
- 26.2.2026–26.3.2026. – Agenda for Group 2
Training Focus
The training aims to equip participants with the competencies to identify crisis and emergency situations, understand expected reactions of children and young people, and provide safe, ethical, and coordinated basic and medium-intensity MHPSS support during and after crises—supported by clear guidance on when to act, how to respond, and when to refer.
A strong emphasis is placed on strengthening multidisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration across the education, health, and social protection systems, with the goal of ensuring a coordinated, timely, and child-centred response in crisis and emergency contexts.
The specialized training is delivered in line with MHPSS principles, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF guidelines, the “Do No Harm” principle, and principles of child and youth participation, as well as data protection and confidentiality standards. The total duration of the training is 40 hours, including 10 hours of supervision.
Lead Expert
Prof. Gordana Buljan Flander, PhD, Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist, with extensive experience in working with children, young people, and families in the fields of child protection, trauma, and mental health.
Agenda
2. Trauma-Informed and Developmentally Responsive Approaches
Duration
Two cycles consisting of five thematic modules each
- 23.4.2026–21.5.2026.
- 28.5.2026–25.6.2026.
Training Focus
Development of trauma-informed and developmentally responsive interventions in work with children and families, with a particular focus on needs identification, risk assessment, and the adaptation of interventions to different developmental stages within the MHPSS system.
Lead Expert
Prof. Gordana Buljan Flander, PhD, Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist, with extensive experience in working with children, young people, and families in the fields of child protection, trauma, and mental health.
3. Community-Based Crisis Interventions
Duration
- 17.9.2026–21.11.2026.
(three full-day sessions per month)
Training Focus
Strengthening capacities for the planning and implementation of community-based crisis interventions, with a focus on Psychological First Aid, response to large-scale crisis events, and intersectoral coordination in real-life contexts.
Team of Experts
- Prof. Lidija Arambašić, PhD, Psychologist and Psychotherapist, specialized in clinical and health psychology, widely recognized for her pioneering work in the development of psychological crisis interventions in Croatia, as well as for her contributions in the fields of stress, trauma, loss, and grief;
- Assist. Prof. Bruna Profaca, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, with extensive experience in working with children, young people, and families, particularly in the field of trauma and child and adolescent mental health, as well as in providing counselling in complex family and institutional contexts.
3. Supervision
Each training cycle integrates reflective supervision as a key mechanism for maintaining quality of practice, upholding professional ethics, and safeguarding the wellbeing of professionals.
Supervisor
- Tanja Tankosić Girt, MSc Psychologist and Psychotherapist, with extensive experience in reflective supervision and in working with professionals in complex and crisis contexts.
