The 1998 armed conflict in Kosovo was the culmination of decades of geopolitical tension in the Balkans. The ensuing refugee crisis and crumbling of health infrastructure made the need for population-wide healing evident to CMBM Founder and CEO, Dr. James S. Gordon. Kosovo was selected as the pilot program for CMBM’s innovative use of mind-body medicine for trauma relief and building resilience.
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
