WHO/Europe is convening partners to build a community of practice to reduce coercion in mental health services, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, on 27–28 May 2026.
The conference, organized as part of the European Commission–funded contribution agreements “Addressing mental health challenges in the EU, Iceland and Norway” and “Support for health resilience in the Eastern Partnership”, will bring together countries in the WHO European Region that have undertaken the WHO QualityRights training on reducing coercion and strengthening recovery-oriented practice in mental health care. Participants will include mental health professionals who are dealing with people in distress on a daily basis, service managers, policy‑makers and other key stakeholders.
Why QualityRights?
In many countries, people with mental health conditions and psychosocial, intellectual or cognitive disabilities continue to face stigma, harmful treatment practices, neglect and abuse. Too often, they are detained against their will, treated without informed consent, and excluded from opportunities to live independently, access education, work and housing, or participate fully in community life.
The WHO QualityRights initiative addresses these challenges by promoting a fundamental shift in mental health care towards approaches that are grounded in human rights and recovery. Recovery is understood not only as clinical improvement, but as supporting people to live meaningful lives with autonomy, purpose, dignity and connection.
The community of practice will provide a platform for participating countries to showcase good practices, innovations and early successes, and to learn from one another through peer exchange. Sessions will focus on shared challenges, the co‑development of practical strategies and implementation plans, and sustaining meaningful and lasting changes in clinical practice. A key outcome will be the strengthening of communities of practice to support continued collaboration to reduce coercion and advance rights‑based, recovery‑oriented mental health care across the Region.
Background
Within the framework of the European Commission contribution agreement “Addressing mental health challenges in the EU, Iceland and Norway”, funded by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG-SANTE), WHO/Europe aims to equip both policy-makers and the health and care workforce with the skills and capacities to improve population mental health and well-being. The project focuses on tailored capacity-building and policy dialogues to make the best use of existing policies and resources, to support a comprehensive approach to mental health.
In parallel, within the framework of the European Commission’s Directorate‑General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST)-funded project, WHO/Europe is supporting countries in building the skills and capacities of the health and care workforce, enabling them to expand access to quality, rights‑based mental health care, and support service transformation across the Region.