Skin in 2020: annual report

Skin, a Bulgarian mental health NGO and member of Mental Health Europe, put together an annual report of projects, achievements, changes and initiatives in 2020.

“I” – a mental health forum seminar

To respond to a rise in eating disorders, anxiety, depression and substance abuse among young people in Bulgaria, Skin organised an event to draw attention to the topic of self-love at the beginning of 2020. Psychotherapists spoke about nutrition, sadness, apathy and self-harm at the Limacon event hall.

Forbes and Skin

The first article dedicated to mental health was published in Forbes Bulgaria magazine’s print issue at the beginning of February. In the issue, dedicated to women, you can read an article by Irina Atanasova, which examines Bulgarian woman’s mental health at work.

WHO, Covid-19 and mental health

Skin created and disseminated the first translation of recommendations by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Department of Mental Health. After its publication, UNICEF Bulgaria and the Bulgarian office of the WHO contacted Skin to offer their recommendations for translation.

Pro Bono Support

Skin gathered over 150 contacts of mental health professionals who offer consultations free of charge during the first national lockdown. The list was sent to media for further distribution and can be found on Skin’s website.

Series of video interviews with mental health specialists

Skin produced the video series “Mental health during an epidemic” in which journalist Beloslava Dimitrova talks to mental health specialists. Topics that were covered included anxiety, domestic violence, home office with children and coping with loss.

European Mental Health Week

As a member of MHE, Skin took part in the first European Mental Health Week. Following the slogan “Together we can”, the week aimed to raise awareness about the importance of mental health during the pandemic and beyond. You can find more information about the initiative here.

Survey on mental health in Bulgaria

To mark World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2020, Skin published the results of an international survey about the way Bulgarian society views mental health. You can read more about the survey here.

Mental health empowerment seminar

Skin held the first national empowerment seminar on mental health as part of a series by MHE on 19 December 2020. The seminars are organised by and for service users. In Bulgaria, mental health services are scarce. Those who use the few services available are not organised in any form. Therefore, the seminar in Bulgaria was conducted with the help of specialists: moderated by psychiatrists Dr. Vladimir Sotirov and Dr. Irina Lazarova and with the participation of Mihail Okoliyski, a representative of the WHO in Bulgaria.

You can read the complete 2020 annual report of Skin here.