United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Central America and the Caribbean

Mental Health Workshop held at Women´s Penitentiary in the Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo, February 10, 2020. On February 7 ^th, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for Central America and the Caribbean (UNODC ROPAN) held a series of workshops on the management of anxiety and co-dependence for 78 female inmates at the CCR-2 Prison, Najayo Mujeres, in the Dominican Republic.

The objective of the workshop series, led by Begoña Gómez del Campo, UNODC´s Prevention expert in the Dominican Republic was to assist inmates to better understand the causes and consequences of various psychological life stressors and identify coping mechanisms.

The first workshop addressed anxiety management and its effect along with practices to reduce its negative impact.

Participants practiced with coping techniques during the workshop to familiarize themselves with their implementation. The second workshop focused on codependency by identifying common root causes as well as the negative consequences of co-dependent behavior. 

The workshop encouraged participants to identify co-dependent tendencies within themselves and seek assistance in managing their behavior.

Throughout the workshop, the importance of self-esteem was highlighted, particularly in the context of incarceration.

The participants had the opportunity to share opinions and feelings about each topic discussed and, at the end of each workshop, the inmates thanked the organizers for providing valuable insight through the workshop and committed to forming a therapy group in conjunction with the psychology department of the center.