The book “Scars: How the Psychosystem Destroys Our Children” Witold Bereś and Janusz Schwertner is a collection of reports about “young people who end their lives because they are surrounded by hostility and intolerance, while they are pushed over the edge by the inefficiency of the healthcare system, the school’s blunt oppression, politicians’ shouting and incitement by the Church.”

The picture of the collapse of Polish child psychiatry presented in the book is devastating. “Scars” tells the stories of children: 12-year-old Ania, who is denied further treatment; 15-year-old Marysia, raped in a psychiatric hospital; and 23-year-old transgender Milo, who jumped from a bridge.

Janusz Schwertner:

In Scars, I talk about the child psychiatry system. In Poland, children with mental health problems go through hell.

We adults created this hell for them. It is a source of shame.

The descriptions in the book are true: dirty beds, overcrowded wards. Children are put on gym mats.

The book is a cry for us to change this.

In Poland, we have a problem accepting difference. This pushed Wiktor to take his own life.

Mothers and fathers fighting for their children are accompanied by helplessness.

At protests, I saw banners saying: “If you want to protect life, take care of child psychiatry.”

The youngest person to attempt suicide was six years old.

In life, we need to be open to people who are ashamed to talk about mental health problems.

There is a witch hunt against LGBT people in Poland.

The book is about fighting a system of misunderstanding. There is a gigantic problem with tolerance.

Sebastian Kaleta mocked and ridiculed Margot on air.

I would like an archbishop or politician to put themselves in the position of a 13-year-old gay boy.

If a school principal condones certain behavior, such an atmosphere develops at school.

If the education minister says that LGBT people are not equal to others, it is devastating.

Young people often show that they are more sensitive than older generations.

We need to develop sensitivity and empathy.

IMPORTANT!

At the Provincial Hospital for the Nervously and Mentally Ill in Bolesławiec, a Psychological and Psychotherapeutic Community Care Centre for Children and Young People has been operating since April 1, 2020. It is a project of the Ministry of Health, fully reimbursed by the National Health Fund (NFZ).

Patients are admitted under an NFZ agreement up to the age of 21 (this applies to young people in education). The centre employs professional, certified psychotherapists. It provides full psychological assessment, psychological consultations, individual, group and family psychotherapy, as well as psychological and community support. Registration: +48 571 306 436.

Hospital director Janina Hulacka initiated an open psychiatric ward for children and young people in 2009 and did not rest on her laurels. In 2020, the Psychological and Psychotherapeutic Community Care Centre for Children and Young People was established.

The centre also makes it possible to establish broader contact with the environment in which the child lives. With the parents’ consent, specialists contact the school, homeroom teacher and school counsellor. If the child uses the services of a Psychological and Pedagogical Counselling Centre, they also contact the centre and MOPS.

“This is a very good way to help children and young people—highly comprehensive and professional,” says Kamila Weigt, head of the Mental Health Centre for Children and Young People in Bolesławiec. “The centre exists so that every child who develops a problem can come and receive help. Four psychotherapists, two psychologists and a community therapist work at the centre. From the very beginning, the project has been piloted by the Ministry of Health. The centre employs people with at least two years’ therapeutic experience working with children and young people,” Kamila Weigt explains.

Free film and lesson plan “How Does Hate Work?”

Grażyna Hanaf, Julia Lisiecka and Teresa Rudzińska created an educational film that can be shown in class to discuss a very important topic with students: online hate, thanks to support from the budget of the Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship

“Until now, I travelled to schools giving lectures, but the epidemic meant that we had to look for other ways to reach students and teachers with this topic,” says group leader and project creator Grażyna Hanaf. “In cooperation with the Psychological and Pedagogical Counselling Centre and the boleslawienie.eu Association, I organised several dozen free talks discussing how one of the most common forms of cyberbullying works. In the 2018/2019 school year and at the beginning of 2019/2020, I met with more than 800 students. Thanks to support from the budget of the Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, the film could be made and our lecture can reach even more students,” Grażyna Hanaf reports.

The film and lesson plan will be sent free of charge to female teachers. The educational film addresses topics including the emotions caused by hate—fear, loneliness and ostracism—as well as online safety, support from adults and institutions for victims of hate, and victims’ rights.

Excerpt from the film “How Does Hate Work?”