<< Background >>This project aims to increase the resilience competencies of mental health professionals (MHPs) in Europe, through non-formal distance-learning training. Specifically, the project will focus on factors that buffer the effects of work-related stressors on MHPs, who are at risk of burn-out and compassion fatigue, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project also aims to boost their psychological resilience against work adversities and enhance thus the quality of mental – health care provision.Covid situation has serious effects in the mental health of most people with longitudinal studies to show increase in anxiety, depression, and symptoms of PTSD (Wang et al., 2020; Gaur et al., 2020; Brooks et al., 2020; Argyropoulos et al., 2021). This situation has a serious impact in MHPs as they have to deal with more clinical cases, severe relapses and more serious psychological symptoms, when at the same time they have to deal with the impact of covid situation in themselves, in their families and loved ones.Additionally to this difficult social situation, MHPs are also exposed to secondary traumatization, while trying to stay empathetically connected to people suffering. In the literature, secondary traumatization is described as compassion fatigue (Lakioti et al., 2020). Compassion fatigue affects all caring professions (such as counselors, nurses, doctors and teachers) and the most common symptoms are chronic physical and emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, feelings of inequity, touchiness, headaches, loss of weight and negative feelings toward work, life and others outside the caring relationship (Negash & Sahin, 2011). Especially for MHPs, compassion fatigue is also linked with self-contempt, feelings of low job satisfaction, psychosomatic ailments, absenteeism or substance abuse (Singh et al., 2020).The most appropriate way to protect and empower MHPs is the training in techniques that help them build psychological resilience. Psychological resilience refers to the maintenance or recovery of one’s mental health, when subjected to stress, adversity, or traumatic experience (Rutter, 1999). In the workplace, resilience is mainly focused on the mitigation of stress effects, through behaviors that enhance positive adaptation and positive functioning (Tusaie & Dyer, 2004). Also, current results in psychotherapy research examining the therapists’ contribution to patients’ outcomes indicate the importance of therapists’ wellbeing and resilience. Specifically, Pereira et al. (2017) showed through multilevel modelling therapists’ resilience and wellbeing to be positively associated with therapists’ effectiveness and patient outcomes (Pereira et al., 2017). Consequently, in these difficult times for MHPs the need to support them and train them properly to face the adversity of their jobs and everyday lives becomes comparative.Yet, research and implementation strategies to combat work-related stress and compassion fatigue in mental health care have mainly focused on tackling the risks instead of increasing the protective resources that sustain and promote resilience against work challenges, thus rendering a more comprehensive and multi-disciplinary training approach warranted.Building resilience after the COVID-19 era, is one of the main competencies that should be developed, especially to the MHPs, due to the pressure and exhausting circumstances that these professionals face due to the pandemic breakdown. Furthermore, this project aims to empower their competencies, such as resilience, IT skills, etc. for being more efficient and for reducing the possibilities of burn-outs and compassion fatigue due to work overload and due to the severity of the clinical cases. Consequently, training MHPs in techniques that help them face the adversity in a way that promotes personal and professional growth will be of great help not only for them but also for the clients they work with.<< Objectives >>Globally, people experience enormous mental health challenges, whether they are infected with COVID-19 or not (Tandon, 2020). These challenges affect different groups of people (general population, COVID-19 patients, elderly, healthcare workers, marginalized population) differently in terms of its nature and severity. Research shows that mental healthcare need during this COVID-19 pandemic is high among the general population (Roy et al., 2020) and that mental health of MHPs is affected adversely (Galbraith et al., 2020). As the number of mental health issues related to COVID-19 is emerging exponentially, it puts the MHPs under tremendous pressure. Other than dealing the mental health issues, MHPs are also engaged in additional responsibility, which is likely to increase their stress and adversely affect their own mental health.The COVID-19 has a great impact on healthcare workers that includes negative mental health outcomes, such as post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms. There is a common belief that MHPs have strong mental health abilities to deal with challenges and are expected to be strong and free from stress. However, they are also humans and vulnerable to frustrations, stress and depression and this notion stigmatizes psychiatry and mental health professionals (Kumar Kar, 2020). The project aims to equip MHPs with innovative educational tools aimed to enhance their resilience, wellbeing, the level of knowledge, skills, and resources from the scope of Positive Psychology, the science of happiness, and its applications in Adult and VET Education through Positive Counselling. More specifically, the target groups of this project are the following: (1) Mental healthcare professionals (Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Psychotherapists, Social Workers, Counsellors, Mental Health Nurses, Occupational and Speech Therapists), who are at high risk of burnout due to increased work-related stressors because of the pandemic and the type of their profession. (2) VET Providers (adult trainers, social workers, educators, psychologists, counselors, coaches), who work with mental health professionals. (3) Indirect target group are the end-users (people who receive mental healthcare services).OBJECTIVES-To address current needs and challenges of MHPs to cope with COVID-19 related stress and face secondary traumatic situations.-To quip MHPs with the resilience competencies required in order to minimize risk factors and cultivate protective factors against work-related stress and burnout; and thus, be able to provide a higher quality service to their clients. -Το engage MHPs in self-care evidence-based practices derived from the field of Positive Psychology to deal with work related stressors and prevent job burnout.-To enhance health professionals’ and VET trainers’ digital skills and creativity through the resilience exercises to confront practical COVID-19 consequences.-To equip MHPs and VET providers with useful resources that will empower the mental healthcare professions.-To provide non-formal educational methods that can be combined with formal education.-To provide interactive digital resources, which will be available to trainers-educators and health professionals to improve achievement in high-level basic and transversal competences in a lifelong learning perspective to confront work-related adversities.-To promote the effective provision of healthcare, taking into consideration the significance of providers’ resilience competencies for a cost-effective healthcare system that is efficient against the new challenge of COVID-19 pandemic.-To increase awareness and sensitize the decision-makers of educational and health policies in the partner countries concerning the critical role and needs of healthcare providers.-To set off an international conversation and create a Positive Community between health professionals and intercultural dialogue on ways to protect them from COVID-19 related stress.<< Implementation >>POSITIVE ACADEMY will implement the following activities. To come up with the Baseline Report and Digital Storytelling Clips (R1), the partners will explore the resilience skills, resources, and competences that MHPs and VET providers need to cultivate. Questionnaires on the training needs of MHPs will be administered in each partner country to elicit information regarding the resources, skills, and competencies they employ to cope with work-related stressors during the pandemic. A virtual focus group will help identify additional training needs of MHPs and explore their expectations regarding training material, while 4 digital storytelling clips will be conducted and recorded, where storytellers will share their personal experiences. Each partner will sum up the data at national level, and all national reports will be integrated in the Final Baseline Report that will set the main thematic areas, based on which the project’s training material will be developed. Each country will organize a short online dissemination event with MHPs, VET trainers, and stakeholders, who will be encouraged to disseminate the outcomes and use them in their job. POSITIVE ACADEMY’s e-kit training content (R2) for the development of MHPs’ resilience skills will then be created. The theoretical framework of resilience and hands-on activities will be developed. Piloting and evaluation will take place to improve training materials and guidelines, including an online train-the-trainer webinar on how to use the training platform, a joint activity to get the main trainers trained and prepared for the forthcoming piloting period and the implementation of the Webinars with the trainees. The e-kit contents will be finalised and will be freely accessible on the project platform for the pilot participants, after they register their interest and affiliation with mental health organizations. A short online dissemination event will be organized by each partner.The E-POSITIVE ACADEMY for MHPs will then be created (R3). A digital platform including a Serious Game for Moodle and an E-Kit will be developed where the R2 material will be uploaded as e-Courses to the Digital Learning Platform. R3 aims to enhance MHPs’ resilience by linking experiential learning scenarios and adult education methodologies with resilience building resources. R3 will integrate different interactive areas of the Learning Platform, which will facilitate online interaction and networking. The Digital Learning Environment, connected to the project website, will include storytelling clips (from R1), training methodologies, activities and tools, and the Serious Game for resilience-building that will provide a virtual role-play simulation for MHPs, and will launch as a mobile and a web app. The digital content will be used for online/offline self-study and self-growth. Piloting and evaluation will take place with three events so that feedback can be provided: an online train-the-trainer webinar on how to use the training platform and the Serious Game, a face-to-face joint activity where participants will interact with other Serious Game users, and a national pilot where each country will demonstrate locally the Serious Game to participants and conduct a virtual Focus Group. Gained competences by trainees will be certified, providing the opportunity for a Network of certified MHPs to arise. A short online dissemination event will be organized by each partner.This links to R4, which aims to create a non-formal Network of representative organizations and MHPs all around Europe. The consortium will organize 5 European Info Days (1 per month) where the “Positive Community” members will sign a Memorandum of Collaboration, followed by the generation of a “Dream Project” idea regarding the promotion of MHPs psychological resilience, wellbeing and job flourishing, with the ultimate goal to ensure ways to continue their Network even after the project’s completion.<< Results >>POSITIVE ACADEMY is expected to produce four distinct results:R1 Baseline Report and Digital Storytelling Clips: R1 aims to identify resilience skills, resources, and competences that MHPs and VET providers should enhance. Questionnaires on the training needs of MHPs will provide information regarding their coping strategies against work-related and COVID-19 related stressors. A virtual focus group to identify the training needs of MHPs and explore their expectations regarding training material will be held in each country. Four digital personal experiences storytelling clips based on the Role Models technique will be conducted and recorded. All these data gathered will be summed up in the national reports that will be consequently integrated into the Final Baseline Report. The document will be available on the project platform and will set the main thematic areas, based on which the training material of the project will be developed.R2 E-kit material for the development of MHPs’ resilience skills: The training material will be based on EQF (European Qualification Framework) and ECVET (European Credit system for Vocational Education & Training) guidelines. Training contents entail description of learning outcomes based on the Needs Analysis, integration of resources that fit the learning objectives, and definition of total learning hours (e.g. hands-on practice, self-study). Training materials will include the theoretical framework of resilience from the Positive Psychology perspective, together with hands-on activities that will combine different methodologies and techniques. The e-kit contents will be finalized after piloting and evaluation procedures and will be freely accessible on the project platform for the participants in the pilot. An innovative training methodology that will meet the need for empowering MHPs’ resilience is essential nowadays that virtual environments are becoming the main mode of working and studying.R3 E-POSITIVE ACADEMY for MHPs: a digital platform including a Serious Game for Moodle and an E-Kit will be created. The Digital Learning Environment, connected to the project website, will include storytelling clips (from R1), training methodologies, activities and tools, and the Serious Game for resilience-building that will provide a virtual role-play simulation and create a space for reflection and sharing for MHPs. R3 will facilitate online interaction and networking by encouraging engagement with the contents and the Serious Game, aiming to enhance MHPs’ resilience by linking experiential learning scenarios and adult education methodologies with resilience building resources. The digital material will be finalized after piloting and evaluation procedures and will be used for online/offline self-study and self-growth. Certification based on the ECVET accreditation system will be given to trainees for gained competencies. Thus, a Network of certified MHPs will be created that will maximize the impact of the project. The gamification approach combined with the Positive Psychology theoretical framework that underpins R2, will create a powerful tool and promote deep learning, while the Serious Game that will lunch as an app on Google Play for mobile devices and as a web app will strengthen the impact of R3.R4 European Mental Healthcare Community: Five EU Info Days (one per month) will be held to gather (trans)national MHPs, MHP associations, organizations, and local authorities. This Network will address MHPs’ wellbeing and will focus on the creation of a “Positive community” involved in training and dissemination activities. A Memorandum of Future Collaboration will be signed aiming to sustain the project outcomes after its completion. A report of the “Dream Project” idea that will accrue from a Virtual Discussion on promoting MHPs’ psychological resilience, wellbeing and job flourishing will be established by the consortium partners, which will participate in the Closing Multiplier event.