CommonPoint – Innovative approaches to training mental health service providers for the quality support of LGBTQI people Erasmus Project

Project Title

CommonPoint – Innovative approaches to training mental health service providers for the quality support of LGBTQI people

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Inclusion – equity; Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development)

Project Summary

CommonPoint is a 24 month long strategic partnership project initiated by four NGOs from Europe working with sexual minorities (LGBTQI people). Link them up with professionals interested in learning about this group through an educational program.

Public and private professional services need specific training materials that recognize the realities of LGBTQI people, that allow users to focus on the definition of their training and employment projects and develop strategies to raise awareness among mental health service providers on gender and sexual diversity, so that LGBTQI people can exercise their rights to health. It is clear, therefore, that it is essential to advance awareness and training all areas of the world of mental health on the need to promote specific measures aimed at eradicating mechanisms, behaviors and attitudes that discriminate or exclude people based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

This project proposes, through the exchange of good practices at European level, to develop innovative materials of wide diffusion that gather these experiences and multiply their impact in diverse territorial contexts. Specifically, the project aims to create an innovative and easily accessible material to train professionals in the field of mental health, in order to promote the design of personalized support programs for LGBTQI people in their empowerment processes. With this project we aim to link the needs of LGBTQI people with professionals interested in learning about this group through an educational program.

This project is following these specific objectives:
– improve the social inclusion of LGBTQI people by increase the number of mental health services tailored to the needs of LGBTQI people;
– increase the knowledge, skills and cultural competences of mental health professionals (school counselors, crisis hotline operators, employee assistance programs counselors, social workers, clinical psychologists) on LGBTQI people;
– develop a manual for an accredited training course of mental health professionals based on good practices collected in the field
– develop innovative online tools and methods for training mental health professionals;
– share good practices among LGBTQI organization active in the field of mental health.

The project aims at developing an offline and an online education program about sexual and gender minorities (LGBTQI people) for professionals in the social and mental health care system. As an intellectual output of this project experts from the participating organisations will create a Handbook with methods and tools to use during a two-day in person training programs (for 4 different target groups) and well as an E-learning material with a 16 hours online training program (for 4 different target groups) available on an online training platform.

The project also organises 2 international mutual learning events; where the partner NGOs can share their best practices, train their staff members to become trainers and mentors for the adult learners as well as train the first users of the offline and online learning materials.

Necessarily, the developed training course and e-learning modules are accompanied by awareness-raising on prevention and detection of violations of rights of LGBTQI people in the health services and the promotion of measures that guarantee the right to equal treatment and opportunities of this groups.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 175220 Eur

Project Coordinator

HATTER TARSASAG & Country: HU

Project Partners

• Prague Pride z. s.
• Single Step Foundation
• LEZBIJSKA ORGANIZACIJA RIJEKA LORIUDRUGE