Slovenia

Introduction

Stress Management Training for Police Forces in Slovenia

The anti-stress program for police officers was introduced in the Slovenian Police Force in 1998 as a part of the prevention model for psychological care. The program participants ranked it, in their evaluation, among the top three out of 80 programs offered in the Slovenian Police Force.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs also conducted an evaluation of the program’s effectiveness (Višnikar and Meško, 2002 ; Višnikar and Turk, 2008 ). Its conclusions were that the program:
• Improved ability of the staff to handle stressful situations at work
• Brought harmony to work and personal life
• Taught the importance of staying calm, relaxed, and focused
• Improved inter-staff relations
The study evaluated the adequacy of the contents, the performance, and the applicability of the program for the work of police officers by using special questionnaires. Based on very favourable evaluation results the authors concluded that the anti-stress training is a more than acceptable component of psycho-hygienic activity in the Slovenian Police Force and would be applicable in other security agencies as well. The European Health Protection Agency included this case in its database of good practices.
More than 690 police staff members have completed the program so far, which is offered on a continuous basis.

Statistics

Testimonials

“I surrendered myself to the program and I do not regret it. I am going home as a new person, full of hope. The seminar is one of the best things that I have experienced during the ten years of my employment. I believe that all the police officers and employees of the Ministry should take part in the seminar“.

A participant of the anti-stress programme in the Slovenian Police Force

References

Irena Kosovel, General Director of Police, Ministry of Interior, Slovenia
“After more than one year of regular anti-stress courses for the employees in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, now also the Centre for the Removal of Foreigners and Asylum Home has organised the training. The participants reported that they felt more relaxed, and less aggressive, pessimistic and desperate, already during the program as well as after it. The experts of the Centre assess that the anti-stress program is of high quality and are considering how to finance the anti-stress program and how to include it in one of the regular forms of organised activities for foreigners in the Centre.”