“Find your needs”, “Manage your worries and fears”, “Let’s have a Skype coffee”, “Invigorate the world where you live”. Those menus can be found on the newly established web site www.psihoteka.me voluntarily developed by four psychologists generously dedicated to help the people psychologically affected by the COVOD-19, long term isolation and social distance.
The users are able to hear a voice, watch video, talk or write via an app, and feel more included. The website provides a completely new interactive experience for users, ensuring listening of meditations and mindfulness exercises, writing of personal diary, recording of thoughts, feelings or other processes etc..
In the period marked with the Corona-caused crisis, isolation is affecting the mental health of people around us. The idea of providing psychological help and support is almost a natural impulse for all psychologists and psychotherapists. This is why four psychologists – Mina Gazivoda, Branka Nikočević, Milena Žujović and Jevrosima Pejović from Counseling Center imaGO, PsihoplaneTA, Motivator – Psychological Center and NGO Authentic came to the idea to help the community. They created an e-book with psychological exercises to help overcome fear and anxiety, which appear very often in the periods of isolation: Psihoteka – brochure for support of personal potentials in isolation.
“We are warmly greeting and waving you from our homes”, wrote the authors to the readers they want to help.
The e-book containing 25 exercises with instructions adapted to the situation is available in Montenegrin language and recently was translated in Albanian.
The authors, psychologists and psychotherapists Mina, Branka, Milena and Jevrosima detected the importance of this tool in supporting mental health, while famous Montenegrin illustrator Andriana Vešović alias Zombijana revived the text with illustrations.
The team participated in the CORONATHON.me – the first online hackathon in Montenegro organized by UNDP, Ministry of Science and Ministry of Culture in partnership with DevClub, Alicorn, Digitalizuj.Me and Science and Technology Park, as well as several media partners Vijesti Portal, Vijesti TV and RTCG. Hackathon aimed to identify solutions which will help Montenegro to adjust, respond and recover from the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the contribution of programmer Dragan Gazivoda, the exercises presented in Psihoteka – brochure for support of personal potentials in isolation are now available via web application on the website www.psihoteka.me. This application is first of its kind and is expected to have wider regional impact due to the language similarities.