CEP publishes European Mental Health Training Curriculum for Probation Staff and launches Pilot Implementation Initiative

European Mental Health Training Curriculum for Probation Officers

CEP is proud to announce the publication of the European Mental Health Training Curriculum for Probation Officers, a unique contribution to strengthening probation practice, staff competence, and mental health literacy across Europe.

Developed by the CEP Expert Group on Mental Health in Probation under the Chair of Ana Cristina Neves, Head of Service at the Portuguese General Directorate of Reintegration and Prison Services, this curriculum represents one of the most comprehensive European frameworks ever developed for probation staff training on mental health. It reflects an ambitious, collaborative, and evidence-informed effort to address one of the most pressing challenges facing probation services today: effectively supporting probationers with mental health needs while safeguarding staff well-being and professional capacity.

The curriculum was developed through extensive expert collaboration, informed by European research, policy standards, and operational practice, and has been reviewed by probation professionals and experts from more than 14 European jurisdictions. This broad revision underlines both its quality and its relevance as a shared European resource.

The curriculum offers a training framework covering:

• Foundations of mental health in probation;
• Trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs);
• Psychosis;
• Substance use and addiction;
• Personality disorders, neurodivergence, and affective disorders;
• Crisis intervention;
• Practical probation engagement skills;
• Gender and mental health;
• Staff self-care and resilience.

This innovative curriculum provides probation services with a high-standard framework that can be integrated into national systems, strengthening professional consistency while allowing for local contextualisation. It provides exclusive access to an innovative and operationally relevant tool for workforce development, institutional strengthening, and enhanced service delivery.

The curriculum is available only for CEP members with a login through the CEP Members page.

How to access the member page?

Once logged in, click the avatar in the top-right corner of the CEP website to access the Members page, or click here.

From Policy publication to Practical implementation

Building on this major achievement, CEP is now taking an important step forward by moving from policy development to operational and practical implementation.

CEP is officially launching a European call for expressions of interest from CEP member jurisdictions to pilot the national implementation of the European Mental Health Training Curriculum.

Through this initiative, one selected CEP member jurisdiction will receive:

• Financial support of up to €6,000;
• Strategic and technical guidance from CEP;
• Support for implementation and evaluation;
• Opportunities for dissemination of results across CEP networks.

The pilot aims to test the curriculum in real operational probation settings, generate implementation evidence, and support future European roll-out of this pioneering framework. This call represents a significant opportunity for probation jurisdictions to contribute directly to shaping future standards for mental health training in Europe.

More information on the call

The form is only for members and can be found on the member page.

Webinar on 21 May: The European Mental Health Curriculum for Probation Officers

To support dissemination and engagement, CEP will host a dedicated webinar on 21 May, during which members of the CEP Expert Group on Mental Health will present the different modules of the curriculum, share insights from its development, and outline the pilot implementation process.

This webinar will provide probation services, policymakers, and practitioners with a valuable opportunity to engage directly with the experts behind this important European initiative.

> Register here

CEP members are encouraged to access the curriculum, participate in the webinar, and consider applying for the pilot implementation call.

If you are not a CEP member and want to access all the benefits of being a member, do not hesitate to contact us!