Psychological care

Psychological care is an integral part of the comprehensive care of our residents. It is performed by four psychologists.

The main objective of the work of psychologists is to improve the quality of life of all those who live at the Institute or who are involved there in training, rehabilitation and employment. This is achieved with the following care:

• Direct individual and group care of individuals,
• Interviews with parents and self-help parent groups,
• Interviews with employees and directing them in their work,
• Involvement of volunteers in leisure time of persons residing at an Institute,
• Assistance to people in their integration into the external environment.

Psychologists combine their work with other activities and services in accordance with the principle of an integrated multidisciplinary approach. The first contact of persons and parents with the psychological service is at the reception, where we meet the person and the parents.

Direct individual psychological treatment always begins with in-depth and comprehensive psychological assessment of an individual, which gives an insight into its development needs and capabilities. The aim of the psychological assessment is to understand what are the individual's emotional, social, cognitive and motor needs, and how the environment needs to be adapted to suit the individual's developmental needs. Psychological evaluation is based on observation, interviews with users and their carers, and the use of questionnaires and psychological tests.

Individual psychological care comprises:

• Psychotherapy (cognitive-behavioural, relational-developmental, game)
• Stimulating the emotional and cognitive development,
• Assistance in identifying personal hardships, problems, conflicts,
• Assistance and guidance in resolving them,
• Training for independent living,
• Preservation of acquired knowledge and working abilities,
• Developing social skills and work habits.

In the case of group psychological work, emphasis is given to strengthening interpersonal relationships and learning how to live with others who are different from us in their interests, needs, abilities and ages.