News

From March 9-11, 2026, University of Klagenfurt hosted a three-day facilitator training for the Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) Programme for Parents and Teens in collaboration with Pro mente. Organized by Dr. Christina Glasauer, Prof. Heather Foran, and the Health Psychology Unit, the training was led by Prof. Dr. Marija Raleva and Dr. Slavica Gajdadzis-Knezevik from Institute ALTERNATIVA (IA), who brought extensive experience in training and supervising facilitators. The training aimed to build on the existing network and further strengthen excellence in facilitation across Austria.

The Magnificent Mei comic book, developed under the Helping Adolescents Thrive initiative (HAT), jointly led by World Health Organization and UNICEF, is now available in Macedonian. It contributes to ongoing efforts to promote adolescent mental health, prevent risk behaviors, and strengthen supportive environments for young people and their caregivers.

We are pleased to share the latest progress from Phase 3 of the FLOURISH project:

• Baseline assessments: completed
• Post assessments:
  • completed in Moldova
  • Wave 1 completed in North Macedonia
  • Wave 2 in North Macedonia ongoing
• Follow-up assessments:
  • starting soon in Moldova
• Intervention implementation:
  • completed in Moldova
  • Wave 1 completed in North Macedonia
  • Wave 2 ongoing in North Macedonia

These milestones mark an important step toward understanding how to better support families and adolescents across Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

Adolescence is a period of growth and change, yet it is also when many mental health challenges emerge, shaped by social realities such as poverty, inequality, and conflict. The FLOURISH project supports families through the Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) Program for Parents and Teens, offering evidence-based tools to strengthen communication, trust, and supportive relationships. The program is implemented in North Macedonia and Moldova by partner organizations ALTERNATIVA (IA) and Youth Friendly Health Centers (Youth Klinics), respectively. To showcase the project’s impact, the video “Beyond the Data: Empowering Families to Support Youth” was presented at the FLOURISH conference in November 2025 in North Macedonia and is now available on the FLOURISH YouTube channel, website, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

The FLOURISH conference “Strengthening Families: Expanding Support Programs for Children, Adolescents, and Parents in Eastern and Southeastern Europe” was held on November 14, 2025 at Hotel Continental in Skopje, North Macedonia. Organized and hosted by project partner ALTERNATIVA (IA) with support from the FLOURISH consortium, the event promoted regional collaboration, the exchange of best practices, and enhanced mental health support for adolescents and their families. It brought together 120 experts, practitioners, organizations (such as UNICEF), and institutional representatives committed to building stronger and more supportive communities. FLOURISH extends its gratitude to ALTERNATIVA (AI) for organizing and hosting the event, to all FLOURISH consortium members for their valuable contributions and presentations, and to all attendees, whose participation made the conference a success.

At the FLOURISH conference “Strengthening Families: Expanding Support Programs for Children, Adolescents, and Parents in Eastern and Southeastern Europe”, project partner Dr. Slavica Gajdadzis-Knezevik, an expert in systemic family therapy and founder of ALTERNATIVA in North Macedonia, highlighted the vital role of families in supporting adolescents. Together with UNICEF MK representative Lesley Miller, she emphasized that even when teens seem distant, they still turn to their parents for guidance and support. Strengthening families, she stressed, is not only a professional responsibility but a societal one. Read the full article on the Telma TV website.

We are excited to announce that the FLOURISH website https://www.flourish-study.org/about.html is now available in six languages: English, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian. Additionally, the FLOURISH-adapted PLH Manual for Facilitators and the PLH Family Guidebook are now accessible in English, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, and Ukrainian, to better support participants in the FLOURISH project. https://www.flourish-study.org/study-materials.html

We are pleased to announce the open-access publication of our Phase 2 study protocol “Family-focused intervention programme to foster adolescent mental health and well-being: protocol for a multicountry cluster randomised factorial trial (FLOURISH Phase 2), now available in BMJ Open. The protocol outlines the design and methodology of our multicountry cluster randomised factorial trial, implemented according to the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST framework). It evaluates the effectiveness and costs of three add-on components alongside the Parenting for Lifelong Health for Parents and Teens program for adolescents and caregivers in Moldova and North Macedonia. Read the full paper here.

Emma Wassell, a psychology student, at Cardiff University, shared her experience working on the FLOURISH project. During her placement, Emma explored parent-adolescent relationships in Moldova and North Macedonia, gaining hands-on experience in developmental psychology. She highlighted the practical impact of research, from data analysis to international collaboration. Read the full interview here.

On January 24, 2024, the YERUN network published an article on the "FLOURISH" project. In the article, Heather Foran, Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Klagenfurt, highlights that around half of all mental health issues emerge during early adolescence and discusses how programs like "Parenting for Lifelong Health for Teens" and the "Helping Adolescent Thrive" initiative can provide valuable support to both adolescents and their caregivers. You can read the full article here.

We are pleased to announce the publication of our study protocol: Family-focused intervention to promote adolescent mental health and well-being in Moldova and North Macedonia (FLOURISH). This study, available on BMJ Open, outlines the feasibility of implementing a family-focused intervention aimed at improving mental health outcomes and well-being for adolescents in these two regions.

You can read the full study here. This research is an important step toward understanding and addressing the mental health challenges faced by adolescents and their families in Moldova and North Macedonia.

We are excited to announce the successful completion of Phase 1 of the FLOURISH study! During this phase, we adapted our family-focused intervention to the cultural contexts of North Macedonia and Moldova, ensuring alignment with the program’s theory of change.
Phase 1 involved consultations with four advisory groups—adolescents, parents, implementers, and policy stakeholders—who provided invaluable feedback for refining the program. The adapted intervention was then piloted with families of adolescents aged 10-14, with both quantitative and qualitative data collected.
We are now preparing for Phase 2, where we will conduct a factorial trial based on the insights gained from Phase 1. Stay tuned for further updates!

The FLOURISH project has officially started on January 1st 2023 and will continue through December 31st 2026.