Psychotherapy room opened in "Abovyan" Penitentiary Institution

Deputy Minister of Justice Arpine Sargsyan and Head of the Penitentiary Service Sergey Atomyan participated in the opening ceremony of the psychotherapy room in "Abovyan" Penitentiary Institution, furnished with the support of the Council of Europe. The finishing works in the room were carried out with the special solutions in accordance with the therapeutic work, equipped with the feature for conducting both individual and group therapy sessions. Alongside furnishing of the psychotherapy room, professional training courses have been held for the psychologists of both "Abovyan" Penitentiary Institution and other penitentiary institutions with the support of the Council of Europe in order to enhance the skills in therapeutic work (including art therapy). At the opening ceremony, Arpine Sargsyan expressed gratitude to the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan, as well as Davit Amiryan and Davit Gevorgyan and the engaged experts for their effective work, reaffirming the willingness of the Ministry of Justice to continue co-operation to improve the quality of psychological services provided at penitentiary institutions. Presenting the completed activities, national expert of the Council of Europe, President of the Armenian Scientific Association of Psychologists NGO Davit Amiryan highly appreciated the willingness of psychologists, as well as the efforts of the Ministry of Justice and the Penitentiary Service for holding training courses for the specialists and creating conditions for psychotherapy at penitentiary institutions. At the end of the meeting, the Deputy Minister handed over certificates to the psychologists who had passed the training course.