Bosnia and Herzegovina

IAC Member Associations & Organizations

Interested in your association becoming an IAC member? Find more information here.

Additional Counselling Associations & Organizations

IUS Students Psychological Counselling Centre 

Career Counselling at the University of Mostar

IAC Education Institute Members

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IAC Member Centres/Group Practices

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There is no available information on background and context about counselling in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

There is no available information on current regulatory status about counselling in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, counselling is practiced in the following settings:

• Therapies for post-traumatic stress disorder; individual and group therapies, as well as social therapies.
• Therapies for psychological, sexual and physical torture, as well as domestic violence
• Body therapies
• psychotherapeutic treatments
• Group, family and individual psychotherapies

The health care system is inadequate, and an overhaul would be necessary. Insurance is sporadic and the cost of medications must be paid in full in some cases. There are some mental health centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are mainly concerned with the treatment of traumatized people. However, they lack trained professionals, time, space and financial resources. In addition, there are some non-governmental organizations and projects that provide psychosocial and medical assistance free of charge. All organizations are mainly concerned with the treatment of victims of war and torture. The need for psychological treatment and counselling is very great. Specialized personnel and training opportunities are very scarce, however. (cf. Scacchi 2004, p.6ff).

The International School of Sarajevo offers training in the field of psychology. On their website they describe that after graduation graduates have the possibility to work in the following areas: Forensics, counselling, therapy, psychiatric care centers, hospitals, research, marketing, school, business, social institutions, and in court. (See International University of Sarajevo 2020) As you can see, counselling is also listed. This means that there is an engagement with the topic in some way.

Interested readers are advised to read the following article for a more in-depth discussion of the counselling profession:

• Scacchi, J. (2004). Bosnien-Herzegowina. Behandlungsmöglichkeiten für schwer traumatisierte Personen. Abgerufen von: https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1196034/1006_1187252082_bosnien-behandlung-bei-traumatisierung.pdf [abgerufen am 09.10.2020]