EMDR in the War Childhood Museum Sarajevo-To repair the damage caused by the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1992-1995

It is the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and the world has been divided into new layers within its already deeply layered and disorganized soul. While some follow the news about new patients and their fate with complete trust, fearing for their fragile health and possible horrifying end, others are doubtful, distrustful and angry, seeking the right of freedom to breathe without a mask, freedom of movement and association, the basic freedom and right to choose illness and death versus the masked freedom of survival, burdened by new fears. This gap of mistrust and frustration results from being shut inside four walls, the loss of employment and the huge quantity of contradictory information, creating additional tension in the already fragile structure of the human psyche. The story of apartheid can also be told in this situation. And like so many times before in its history, when life becomes complicated until it is almost unbearable, when the earth quakes and the waters are in uproar, some (selected) examples of humanity come to the fore and become visible, that arouse both admiration and hope. The pandemic has helped one more, this time admirable division to become visible to the world - the division into those who, weakened by the virus, have become dependent on the care and concern of others, and those who fight ruthlessly to provide them with care and increase their chances for victory of health over illness, life over death. In this great family of praiseworthy helpers, psychotherapists have bravely taken their place, literally becoming organized overnight and re-organizing their work in person to work remotely. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Organization of mental healthcare in Bosnia and Herzegovina during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), like any other pandemic, has imposed an unprecedented threat to physical and mental health to all nations, worldwide. There is no enough evidence in the literature in this area. The present study has been done to explore the organization of psychiatric services in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) to meet mental health needs of BH citizens during the particular restrictive measures caused by COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS: This online survey has been done for BH psychiatric institutions. Data were collected from psychiatric institutions in the mental health network of BH. A total of 38 complete responses have been received. RESULTS: Of 38 study participants, three were the departments of psychiatry in university clinical centers, two were psychiatric hospitals, four were psychiatric wards in general hospitals, 27 were community mental health centers, and two were institutes for alcoholism and drug addiction. During the pandemic, all services functioned on a reduced scale, adhering to measures to protect and self-protect both staff and service users. Protective equipment was provided to staff in some institutions in a timely and complete manner and in some in an untimely and incomplete manner. Consultative psychiatric examinations were mainly performed through telephone and online, where it exists as a standard patient monitoring protocol. The application of long-acting antipsychotics was continuous with adherence to restricted and protective measures. In opiate addiction replacement therapy services, substitution therapy was provided for a longer period to reduce frequent contacts between staff and patients. Individual and group psychotherapy continued in reduced number using online technologies, although this type of service was not administratively regulated. An initiative has been given to regulate and administratively recognize telepsychiatry by health insurance funds in the country. A number of psychological problems associated with restrictive measures and fear of illness have been reported by patients as well as by the professionals in mental healthcare teams. There were no COVID-19-positive patients seeking help from institutions that responded to the questionnaire. In one center, infected people with COVID-19 from abroad sought help through the phone. Only one involuntary hospitalization was reported. The involvement of mental health professionals in the work of crisis headquarters during the design of the COVID-19 pandemic control measures varies from satisfactory to insufficient. Education of staff, patients, and citizens was regular with direct instructions through meetings, press, and electronic media. CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic in BH, all psychiatric services functioned on a reduced scale, adhering to measures to protect and self-protect staff and service users. All patients who asked for help have been adequately treated in direct inpatient or outpatient mental healthcare or online, despite telepsychiatric services not being recognized in health system in BH. There were neither infected patients nor staff with COVID-19 in the psychiatric institutions who responded in this research. A large-scale, multicenter study needs to be performed to get a broader picture and to guide us for future better service planning and delivery.