How we worked in Kosovo

Beginning in 1998, CMBM Faculty trained more than 600 Kosovar clinicians and educators over a five-year period. To sustain care for the entire population of two million Kosovar, we established permanent operations in the region with Country Co-Directors Afrim Blyta, MD, PhD, and Jusuf Ulaj, MD. They, alongside 15 Faculty, provide supervision to CMBM trainees using our model in Kosovo’s community mental health centers.

Our impact

The program in Kosovo has evolved into a pillar of the nation-wide Community Mental Health system. The first randomized controlled trial (RCT) of any intervention with war-traumatized children and the first RCT of a successful, comprehensive mind-body approach with any traumatized population were published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry in 2008, showing highly significant and lasting changes in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

2,000,000

children and adults served

600

health and education professionals trained in our model

15

gifted and committed local faculty members

The challenge

In the aftermath of the February 14, 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD) that killed 17 students and faculty, Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) shared with CMBM the urgent need for a community-wide stress and trauma-relief response.

BCPS Superintendent Robert Runcie invited CMBM to host trauma-relief workshops in Broward, and in July 2018, with the generous support of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, CMBM and BCPS officially launched the Comprehensive Wellness Program for Broward County Public Schools. The Children’s Services Council of Broward County joined the effort in 2019, helping expand our program beyond the school system and into the community.

Our approach

Since 2018, we have brought CMBM’s transformational model of self-awareness, self-care, and group support to Broward County. Peer counselors, teachers, parents, and community service providers have spread our model across Broward’s classrooms, clinics, suicide hotlines, community centers, synagogues, and individual and family counseling sessions. Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas have also started a pioneering Mind-Body Medicine Peer Counseling Program and can become Mind-Body Ambassadors in the Mind-Body Club, started by MSD teacher Diane Wolk-Rogers.

Today, we continue to bring CMBM’s transformational model to Broward County. Mind-body medicine techniques have been integrated into classrooms, clinics, suicide hotlines, community centers, houses of worship, and individual and family counseling sessions throughout the county. Students at MSD have also participated in a pioneering Mind-Body Medicine Peer Counseling Program and Mind-Body Ambassadors Club, an after-school program started by MSD teacher Diane Wolk-Rogers and MSD parent Ellen Fox-Snider.

Our impact

CMBM—alongside the 650 Broward peer counselors, teachers, parents, and community service providers we’ve trained since 2018—have shared our model with over 51,000 children and adults in Broward County. We’ve documented statistically-significant decreases in levels of stress and depression, and improvements in burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary trauma amongst those in Broward County.

Testimonials from the Comprehensive Wellness Program in Broward County Public Schools demonstrate our model’s ability to provide relief, increase hopefulness, and improve community connections between the thousands of students, parents, educators, and community members who have participated.

• Students and faculty present during the February 14th shooting report feeling calmer and more in control thanks to their newfound support system.
• Youth leaders who have participated in the popular Mind-Body Medicine Peer Counseling Program have also expressed an increased sense of well-being, agency, and purpose.
• Peer Counselors have led some 85 classroom presentations that have impacted over 1,000 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
• Upon completing our training, students are excited to support one another, engage in dialogue about their trauma, and share the life-long self-care skills they’ve learned with their friends and classmates.

51,000

children and adults served

650

Broward peer counselors, teachers, parents, and community service providers trained in our model

18

gifted and committed local faculty members Certified in our model