Between July 29 – August 2, 2024, CONCORDIA Academy organized a learning mobility in Vorarlberg, Austria, with the central theme “hope in working with people with mental health problems”.

A group of 10 professionals from Romania participated – including both staff members and external collaborators – who work directly with adults and youth experiencing mental health issues.

During the program, participants were involved in a series of training and exchange of experience with colleagues from Austria. The discussions focused on Austrian welfare system and good practices on the integration of people with disabilities, with a focus on the European values promoted in this context: inclusion and diversity, tolerance and anti-discrimination.

Day three was dedicated to a visit to a model organization in the field of inclusion of people with disabilities in the labor market in the Vorarlberg region – Sunnahof Lebenshilfe Vorarlberg. Here, participants learned about:

  • main activities of the organization;
  • intervention model used, recognized as good practice in integrating people with disabilities into work and society;
  • the needs of professionals social and mental health professionals;
  • ethical considerations in working with people with disabilities;
  • reflections on own role as a professional in mental health – boundaries, beliefs, ethics.

Another important topic was “self-awareness and self-care in the social sector”, with discussions on how professionals can protect their emotional health and capitalize on personal and community resources.

The program also included practical exercises in the session “Applying positive emotions”, where participants explored ways in which positive emotional states can be cultivated in both personal and professional life.

There was also an experience exchange session between professionals from Austria and Romania, in which were presented best practice models and concrete examples from their daily work, with the aim of learning from each other and improving the services offered in both countries.