Projects > Kosova Family Professional Education Collaborative

Kosovar mental health professionals are taking the initial steps in forming community based mental health services that are uniquely oriented towards the Kosavar family and its strengths and that responds to the highest priority needs of caring for the seriously chronically mentally ill. They are prepared in part as a result of the ongoing work of a professional collaboration, which involves the University of Prishtina, the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Chicago affiliated Chicago Center for Family Health, the International Trauma Studies Program of New York University, and the American Family Therapy Academy. The involvement and support of these partner organizations and the host organizations in Kosova has made possible the collaboration between Kosovar and American mental health professionals. The aim is to support and enhance the capacities of Kosovar mental health professionals as they serve as leaders and implementers of a process of services based training as an integral part of the development of family focused community mental health and preventive services in the seven regions of Kosova. It is based upon a strength based family/systems approach to training, supervision, monitoring and evaluation.

This multi-year project encompasses four dimensions: (1) forming and deploying of multi-disciplinary services based community mental health training teams of Kosovar services trainers for providers at the new community mental health centers; (2) extending and refining the collaborative training of American mental health professionals to directly support the above community mental health and prevention initiatives; (3) engaging families in local communities to house and care for persons with serious chronic mental illness without home/family through a network of community based support services; (4) monitoring and evaluation of multiple critical dimensions, including community services needs, the process of training, the impact of training on trainee's skills, the impact of preventive interventions, and the impact of training on services.

Pictures From KFPEC Meeting

The founders of the Kosova Family Professional Education Collaborative (KFPEC) are Ferid Agani, Stevan Weine, and John Rolland. The leaders also include Jusaf Ulaj, Shipque Ukshini, James Griffith and Ellen Pulleyblank. The teaching faculty of the KFPEC also include Corky Becker Melissa Elliot-Griffith, Judith Landau, Jack Saul, John Sargent, Carlos Sluzki, Kaethe Weingarten and Mabs Mango.