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Albania
“Eyes on mental health” - United our voices are stronger!
“Eyes on mental health” - united our voices are stronger!
The Order of the Psychologists in the Republic of Albania organized for the first time in our country on October 10th, 2022 the World Mental Health Day in an awareness-raising activity under the motto “Eyes on Mental Health”. The initiative to organize this activity was taken due to the latest report of the World Health Organization, that specifically drew attention to issues and the importance of Mental Health especially after the COVID-19 health crisis.
In Albania, likewise all around the world, the cases of people who have sought assistance by psychologists have doubled, thus now more than ever our country needs to take care of the individual in all his dimensions, not only physically.
Actually, the Order of the Psychologists has made a deliberate effort to raise awareness on the importance of mental health in the country ever since its establishment. This is enabled by meetings with representatives of line ministries or other governmental organizations, trainers of psychologists, health care institutions, and even public outings to discuss various issues.
Under the care and coordination of the Order of the Psychologists, psychologists in Albania were massively organized in two significant events, including the earthquake in November 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic. During these crises, they demonstrated dedication, professionalism, and excellent skills in working under hard conditions. This march’s goal and challenge was to bring together not only professionals of the mental health field, but also everyone else who recognizes the significance of mental health in all facets of personal, social, cultural, and political life in the country.
Every citizen, expert, politician or artist was invited to be a voice for mental health.
And truly the stronger voice at the march was the voice of psychologists in nurseries, kindergartens, schools, hospitals, organizations and all other psychologists who work, advocate, raise awareness, assist, evaluate and support the people affected, their family members and the community.
The second most important voice was the voice of representatives from the University of Elbasan, Durrës, Shkodra, “Mesdhetar” University, “Albanian University”, “Barleti” University, etc., that for years have been training professional psychologists who are zealous and passionate about helping those in need. Actually, psychology is a relatively new profession in Albania, with the first generation of psychologists being graduated in 2000. But thanks to our joint work and the coordination of the Order of the Psychologists, they are now an active and powerful voice in protection of mental health. We have all witnessed how the public opinion has changed towards psychologists, making their expertise very sought out.
It was a pleasure for us to have attend the Order of Social Workers, the Institute of Public Health, politicians who left politics behind for the day, health care workers, citizens, etc.
The activity was covered in real time by visual and written media, that gave it the appropriate space in their websites and channels. Due to the dynamics that Albanian society is facing, the Order of the Psychologists is determined to continue its work to raise awareness everyday more in institutions and citizens, it will raise awareness towards mental health issues which we face on a daily basis.
We will continue to be a strong voice for mental health every day and let’s not forget: "Life is sweet."
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Croatia
The Croatian Psychological Association has organised the 16th edition of the Week of Psychology from February 20-26, 2023.
The Croatian Psychological Association has organised the 16th Psychology Week in Croatia in 2023
February 20-26, 2026
This event was first organised in 2008, when colleague psychologists were summoned to acknowledge with different activities the 55th jubilee of the oldest Croatian psychological association. Numerous colleagues showed enthusiasm and motivation to present psychology to the public and show how widely psychological theory and practice is included in the lives of individuals and communities.
In the last year’s 15th Psychology Week there were 750 participants with over 1000 events presented in over 100 Croatian cities and communities, with good media visibility.
This year’s 16th Psychology Week coincided with the 70th jubilee of the Croatian Psychological Association, including 850 participants with over 1000 events (lectures, workshops, panel discussions, round tables, video presentations, meetings with experts, etc.) presented in over 100 Croatian cities and communities, also publicly highly visible with the help of different media. Activities were organised and performed exclusively by psychologists, members of the Croatian and regional psychological associations, academic community, psychology departments and institutes, psychology students. We thank them all!
Jasminka Despot Lučanin and Josip Lopižić
The Portuguese city of Guarda will host the VI Luso-Spanish Psychology Meeting, on the 26th of May. Accessibility and social inclusion are the central themes of this initiative organized by the Portuguese Psychologists Association and the Official College of Psychology of Spain, with the support of the Municipality of Guarda.
The meeting brings together Portuguese and Spanish psychologists. The Iberian Psychology Awards will also be awarded on this day.
3rd Meeting Psychologists on Municipalities and Parish Councils
March 2, 2023
The third meeting of Psychologists from Local Administration took place on 2 March. An event that served to create a space for discussion, reflection and sharing of experiences and good practices focused on the importance of the psychologist's role in all Psychology specialties in Local Administration. The role of municipalities in promoting well-being and the vision of leaders and psychologists for Psychology in local administration were some of the themes of the event where good practices were also shared.
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Portugal
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Portuguese Psychologists Association distinguishes Pro-Aging Communities. April, 2023
- VI Luso-Spanish Psychology Meeting 2023. May, 2023
- 3rd Meeting Psychologists on Municipalities and Parish Councils. March, 2023
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Portuguese Psychologists Association distinguishes Pro-Aging Communities
April 14, 2023
On April 14, the Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses (Portuguese Psychologists Association) handed out 72 “Pro-Aging Communities” stamps in a ceremony with the presence of Social Affairs Secretary of State. The aim is to recognize and distinguish parish councils and municipalities with a strong and effective commitment to promoting healthy and successful aging throughout the entire life cycle. They were evaluated for their policies, programs, strategic plans and practices related to the promotion of healthy and successful aging throughout the entire life cycle
The Portuguese city of Guarda will host the VI Luso-Spanish Psychology Meeting, on the 26th of May. Accessibility and social inclusion are the central themes of this initiative organized by the Portuguese Psychologists Association and the Official College of Psychology of Spain, with the support of the Municipality of Guarda.
The meeting brings together Portuguese and Spanish psychologists. The Iberian Psychology Awards will also be awarded on this day.
3rd Meeting Psychologists on Municipalities and Parish Councils
March 2, 2023
The third meeting of Psychologists from Local Administration took place on 2 March. An event that served to create a space for discussion, reflection and sharing of experiences and good practices focused on the importance of the psychologist's role in all Psychology specialties in Local Administration. The role of municipalities in promoting well-being and the vision of leaders and psychologists for Psychology in local administration were some of the themes of the event where good practices were also shared.
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The Ukrainian Psychologists Association has added new numbers in its hotline. The hotline is an online format organized by volunteers who stay in safe conditions and have enough emotional resources for work. It is important, because people are rapidly changing locations due to increased risk to life.
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Ukraine
Now 22 countries on the Ukrainian association hotline. May, 2023
The Ukrainian Psychologists Association has added new numbers in its hotline. The hotline is an online format organized by volunteers who stay in safe conditions and have enough emotional resources for work. It is important, because people are rapidly changing locations due to increased risk to life.
EARA - European Association for Research on Adolescence
Emerging Scholar Spotlight
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ESTSS - European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
Memorable Moments From 30 Years ESTSS
Memorable Moments From 30 Years ESTSS
This year we celebrate ESTSS’ 30 year existence, three decades of bringing together professionals to connect and share thoughts, experiences and findings in psychotraumatology. ESTSS’ members and leaders have been part of the trauma field’s development and advancement. We are grateful to be able to celebrate this milestone together at local society events, through online activities and at the biannual conference in Belfast.
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EFPSA- European Federation of Psychology Students' Associations
- Past events and activities
- Upcoming events and activities
- Projects and upcoming news
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In March 2023, eleven EFPSA Alumni members met for an in-person Alumni Meet Up in Prague. The group also met the EFPSA Alumni who established the Training Office in EFPSA more than 10 years ago. Besides sharing their memories and experiences from the time they were a part of the EFPSA Working Community, they tried Czech cuisine and visited many attractions in the city; for example, the Prague Castle, Charles's bridge and the Prague Astronomical Clock.
EFPSA and PsySSA (Psychological Society of South Africa) Student Division hosted a successful webinar on CriticalPsychology, featuring insightful and informative presentations from Daniel den Hollander and Alessio Surian. The webinar explored the role of Critical Psychology in psychology education and why we would need to keep different perspectives.
After four years, EFPSA got back to its tradition of fully in-person Congress. This year, the event was organised by Portuguese students in Póvoa de Varzim close to Porto from the 27th of March until the 2nd of April that around 200 psychology students joined. The theme of the Congress was ‘Unravelling psychology´s role in policy-making.’ Students participated very proactively in roundtables, workshops and plenary discussions on the topics such as health and wellbeing, poverty, democracy, gender policy, policy in education, global leadership and climate action in psychology.
From the feedback we gathered, participants were leaving the Congress with encouragement to make change as well as some concrete steps and plans on how to get involved on local, national or European level.
The Congress is very important for EFPSA as a Federation as it additionally marks the switch of mandates. The Board of EFPSA of 2023-2024 were elected and commenced their work. New Board consists of the President: Veronika Kocmanová, Vice President: Bahadır Çamur, Finance Officer: Celeste Awere, Marketing Officer: Frigg Høegh Krohn, Member Representatives Officer: Barlet Beqiri, Events Officer: Sila Soysal, and Academic Affairs Officer: Louise De Meulenaer.
EFPSA has been involved in the European Mental Escape project for the past two years. The project will be officially introduced during the Mental Escape Dissemination Conference. It will be a hybrid event happening on the 10th of July, from 09:00-18:00 in Leuven, Belgium. During the day, participants will be able to enjoy engaging demo escape rooms and attend various lectures and workshops delivered by professionals. It will provide the opportunity to gain insight into the science that gave rise to the escape rooms, actually test the escape rooms through demo sessions and to network with professionals.
Registration for online participation in this event is open until the 30th of June via this link
We are happy that the Trainers´ Meeting is coming back after a few years. The event will be hosted from the 4th until 7th of August 2023 close by Berlin in Germany. TRAM is intended for a small group of soft-skills trainers to enhance their skills and networking with trainers from different Train the Trainers generations. This year, TRAM will focus on the training topic connected to the theme ´Evolution of Trainings: Throughout the ages, training changes´.
The new Board of EFPSA will meet for the first time in person for their Board Meeting in summer. The Board will be discussing changes, new practices and important issues for the Federation, and preparing for the Joint EB&MR Meeting. It is also the time to bond together as a team thanks to feedback sessions, social and teambuilding activities.
EFPSA is involved in the Advocacy Action Group together with other healthcare students´ associations that are connected thanks to EHSAS (European Healthcare Students´ Associations Summit). The position paper is expected to be finalized before summer season.
EFPSA People & Culture Office worked hard last year to prepare the Onboarding Package for the new members. The Package includes introductory document Rookie Pack, collection of 16 videos, and Dictionary of abbreviations used on daily-basis. We are happy that at the Congress, Ukraine and France became our new Observer Organisations, and Montenegro our Member Organisation.
Finally, the Board selected the new Executive Board and we welcomed around 100 members to our Working Community who will be working on the projects, events and initiatives until April next year.
