The stress of war. Recommendations for the protection of mental health and wellbeing for both Ukrainian refugees as well as Poles supporting them. / Stres wojny. Zalecenia dotyczace ochrony zdrowia psychicznego i dobrostanu zarówno uchodzców ukrainskich, jak i Polaków zaangazowanych w ich wsparcie.

The presence of large numbers of Ukrainians looking for refuge in Poland is a new experience for Poles. The ongoing war and the uncertainty of the situation of those displaced may cause anxiety and lead to stressful reactions, exacerbated by endlessly circulating information on hostilities. Therefore, the sense of security may be threatened not only among Ukrainians who have fled to Poland, but also among people who support Ukrainians, who offer them help and shelter. Prolonged support, if not accompanied by proper selfcare can increase the risk of burnout as well as lead to distressful emotional states, such as a feeling of helplessness, hopelessness, reluctance to provide further help, or even demonstrate hostility. The article presents the situation and current psychosocial needs of Ukrainian refugees in Poland and provides a set of recommendations regarding the organization of mental health care in the face of the ongoing war in Ukraine. There are available tools to use by Polish specialists and lay helpers to support Ukrainian refugees. The Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Intervention Pyramid, developed by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, is used to classify suggested interventions. Appropriate care should be available to both refugees as well as the host population involved in their care.

Family Needs Checklist: Development of a Mobile Application for Parents with Children to Assess the Risk for Child Maltreatment.

Child maltreatment (CM) has been enormously studied. However, a preventive practice still requires comprehensive and effective instruments to assess the risks for CM in a family context. The aim of this study is to describe the development process of an evidence-based CM risk assessment instrument (Family Needs Checklist, FNC) for primary prevention online utilization. This article reports the development process of the checklist and its mobile application, consisting of a systematic literature review, identification of known risk factors using the content analysis method, and generation of the checklist, including a multidisciplinary group in the design and feedback. As a result, a comprehensive and compact checklist was developed to be used by parents or caregivers as a self-referral instrument with an option to be used with professionals as a basis for joint conversations. The FNC consists of parental, family-, and child-related risk factors. Based on the international evidence, the online application consists of knowledge about different CM types, information about risk factors and protective factors as well as recommendations and guidance to support services. The FNC is based on robust evidence on known risk factors causing CM in families. It can be used for primary prevention utilization in the general population.

Professionals' Digital Training for Child Maltreatment Prevention in the COVID-19 Era: A Pan-European Model.

The responsiveness of professionals working with children and families is of key importance for child maltreatment early identification. However, this might be undermined when multifaceted circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, reduce interdisciplinary educational activities. Thanks to technological developments, digital platforms seem promising in dealing with new challenges for professionals' training. We examined a digital approach to child maltreatment training through the ERICA project experience (Stopping Child Maltreatment through Pan-European Multiprofessional Training Programme). ERICA has been piloted during the pandemic in seven European centers involving interconnected sectors of professionals working with children and families. The training consisted of interactive modules embedded in a digital learning framework. Different aspects (technology, interaction, and organization) were evaluated and trainers' feedback on digital features was sought. Technical issues were the main barrier, however, these did not significantly disrupt the training. The trainers perceived reduced interaction between participants, although distinct factors were uncovered as potential favorable mediators. Based on participants' subjective experiences and perspectives, digital learning frameworks for professionals working with children and families (such as the ERICA model nested in its indispensable adaptation to an e-learning mode) can represent a novel interactive approach to empower trainers and trainees to tackle child maltreatment during critical times such as a pandemic, and as an alternative to more traditional learning frameworks.

Mental health of university students during the pandemic. Threats to their mental health and proposals for university student support in Poland.

Purpose: The article is an application report. It focuses on the mental health difficulties currently experienced by university students in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have a significant impact on the study process. The work also presents examples of support implemented at higher education institutions during the pandemic, aimed at maintaining and strengthening students' mental health. Views: Mental health is closely related to physical/somatic health, among other things, in terms of health behaviour and immuno-logical processes. Thus, any physical, life-threatening and therefore life-altering illness has a potentially negative impact on an individual's overall mental health. A pandemic such as COVID-19 in 2020 is a potential additional risk factor for mental health that is not yet well understood. Pandemic-related changes such as remote learning, reduced interpersonal contact, the uncertainty surrounding this pandemic of unknown magnitude, as well as its dynamic and often surprising course may have an impact on the functioning of young people and their daily activities, including studying. Conclusions: It is essential to monitor mental health in different population groups, including students-young adults, specifically in relation to the threat of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection, prevention activities and the treatment of COVID-19 patients. It is important to introduce parallel activities to support students' mental health, in line with the sanitary regime, e.g. by using new technologies.

Mental health of patients suffering from connective tissue diseases. Negative and positive concept and selected correlates. / Zdrowie psychiczne osób z chorobami tkanki lacznej. Ujecie negatywne i pozytywne oraz wybrane korelaty.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the research was to assess mental health of people suffering from connective tissue diseases, both in negative terms, i.e., the presence of disorders, and in positive terms - patients'well-being. Due to the specificity of connective tissue diseases, among others their unpredictable course and the pain that often accompanies patients, selected clinical and sociodemographic variables were included in the analyses. METHODS: 101 people participated in the study, 81 women and 20 men aged 18 to 57 years, suffering from various connective tissue diseases. Some people completed questionnaires during support group meetings (38.6%), others via the internet. The HADS-M scale was used to examine indicators of mental health in negative terms, the PERMA-Profiler questionnaire was used to assess well-being (an indicator of mental health in positive terms), and the authors' own survey was used to obtain clinical and sociodemographic data. RESULTS: Subjects suffering from connective tissue diseases are characterized by high severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Relationships between mental health and selected clinical and sociodemographic variables were observed, e.g., greater pain is associated with higher rates of anxiety and depression, and lower well-being; the level of well-being increases with age. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to monitor the mental health of people with chronic somatic diseases, including connective tissue diseases, especially in young people at the initial period of the disease, suffering from severe pain, residents of villages and small towns where access to support is limited.

Sexual and mental health of woman suffering from selected connective tissue diseases: an original paper.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to assess the sexual and mental health of women suffering from connective tissue diseases and to determine the potential interrelationships between the studied clinical variables and sexual and mental health. METHODS: The study was conducted in a group of women with connective tissue diseases. To assess somatic health, we used The Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ-DI), and to assess sexual health, we used the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire (KSS). The mental health was assessed by using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-M) and the PERMA-Profiler (PL). RESULTS: The study involved 81 women suffering from connective tissue diseases, especially rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Clinical symptoms of sexual dysfunction were observed in 54% women. The biggest difficulties occur in sexual desire, orgasm and arousal. Patients had symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders. Higher levels of anxiety and depression are associated with poorer overall sexual functioning and better overall sexual functioning, and all its dimensions are associated with a higher level of mental well-being. There was also an observed relationship with the functional limitation due to pain and duration of the disease. CONCLUSION: The study confirms the existence of difficulties in the sexual functioning of women suffering from connective tissue diseases and shows the relationship between sexual and mental health and basic disease. The observed relationships are important information in the treatment and medical care of people with this group of rheumatic diseases. Key Points • The article presents one of the few studies about sexual functioning of Polish population women with connective tissue diseases. • The aim was to assess the sexual and mental health of women with various connective tissue diseases and determine the potential interrelationships between the clinical variables and sexual and mental health. • The study confirms difficulties in the sexual functioning of women with connective tissue diseases. The biggest difficulties occur in sexual desire, orgasm and arousal. Patients also had mental disorders symptoms. • The study presents conclusions and indications which may be important and help specialists approach the treatment process in an interdisciplinary way.

The "PsychoZak" program - an example of using positive concepts of mental health in practice. / Program "PsychoZak" ­ przyklad zastosowania pozytywnych koncepcji zdrowia psychicznego w praktyce.

For years experts have been advocating the need to develop an individual's health potential, which enables him/her to maintain health and improve his/her effective functioning in difficult situations. A number of positive mental health models have been created, among others: the functional model of mental health, the complete state model of health, the salutogenic model and the model of psychological well-being. They cover both optimal and unfavorable aspects of human functioning. The article presents an authorial program for mental health promotion - "PsychoZak", which is based on the positive concepts of mental health, a review of empirical reports concerning health promotion and on the target group's expectations. The program is addressed to young adults studying at universities as well as final-year secondary school students. Its aim is to strengthen students' psychological, emotional, somatic, and social well-being. It can be used by higher education institutions and thus be a tool satisfying the demand for mental health promotion at universities.

Empowering families with the experience of mental illness. A presentation of the Polish version of CAMILLE training package. / Umacnianie rodzin z doswiadczeniem choroby psychicznej. Prezentacja polskiej wersji pakietu szkoleniowego CAMILLE.

The paper presents the CAMILLE training package prepared in the EU program Empowerment of Children and Adolescents of Mentally Ill Parents through Training of Professionals working with children and adolescents. The training is designed for psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, teachers and others working with children and adolescents where a parent experiences mental disorders. The project was realized on 4 stages: (1) pre-analyses (quality and quantity) with professionals, family members and people experiencing mental disorders, in regards to the needs, experiences and expectations in education of professionals working with families of parents with mental illness; (2) development of a new pan-European training program for specialists working with these families; (3) pre-pilot implementation and evaluation of the training; (4) preparing of the final version of the training and pilot implementation in 7 countries participating in the project, also in Poland. The training program consists of 9 subjects, divided into 3 main groups: the basic knowledge (mental disorders, child development, attachment), experiences and needs of the families (experiences of parents, children, stigma), methods of family support (talking with children, resilience, successful services). The pilot implementation of the program showed great professionals' interest in the subject and training methods. The evaluation showed significant positive effects of the training in terms of the raise of awareness of influence of the parent's illness on needs of the child, parental abilities and ability of building the child resilience. The CAMILLE training is a valuable program that can be implemented in Poland.

Needs, expectations and consequences for children growing up in a family where the parent has a mental illness.

The lack of pan-European guidelines for empowering children of parents with mental illness led to the EU project CAMILLE - Empowerment of Children and Adolescents of Mentally Ill Parents through Training of Professionals working with children and adolescents. The aim of this initial task in the project was to analyse needs, expectations and consequences for children with respect to living with a parent with mental illness from the perspective of professionals and family members. This qualitative research was conducted in England, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland and Scotland with 96 professionals, parents with mental illness, adult children and partners of parents with mental illness. A framework analysis method was used. Results of the study highlighted that the main consequences described for children of parental mental illness were role reversal; emotional and behavioural problems; lack of parent's attention and stigma. The main needs of these children were described as emotional support, security and multidisciplinary help. Implications for practice are that professionals working with parents with mental illness should be aware of the specific consequences for the children and encourage parents in their parental role; multi-agency collaboration is necessary; schools should provide counselling and prevent stigma.