The training course has been initiated as part of the Foundation’s psychological rehabilitation strategic program for children and adults affected by the war. We are convinced that every Ukrainian child has the right to be happy and healthy under a peaceful sky. But now the main task of the Foundation is to help children to cope with the consequences of the war in Ukraine, overcome traumas and find hope for a happy future.
According to the latest data of the International Organization for Migration, there are 6.5 million internally displaced people in Ukraine. The International Charitable organization Foundation, together with Israeli Trauma Coalition, is launching a training course for psychologists specializing in «Psychological Support in Crisis». The project aims to share with Ukrainian psychologists the latest techniques of crisis assistance that are needed when working with internally displaced persons of different ages during the war.
30 psychologists from the Inclusive Resource Centers of the Ternopil region are the first to get access to the learning course. The regional Department of Education has requested specialized training. At the initiative of the Foundation, the course will be coached by representatives of the Israeli Trauma Coalition. And after the training, specialists will be able to work with children and adults in IRC centers. The Foundation aims to train as many IRC professionals as possible in the regions with the highest number of internally displaced persons.
Since the beginning of the war, the Ternopil region has become one of the key hubs for internally displaced persons. The Foundation helped with arranging shelters in educational institutions in the region. In March, the Foundation transferred 2,000 sleeping sets there. And in April, washing machines, towels and laptops were delivered to educational institutions, which currently house the largest number of internally displaced students.
— There are more than 5,000 people in Ternopil region who have been forced to flee their homes due to Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine, about 1,500 of them are children. The victims of this war need psychological rehabilitation. Therefore, the Foundation is transferring from providing low-threshold services to caring of mental health, education, sports development, leisure for children. We clearly understand that people’s mental health is one of the main factors in their rehabilitation and adaptation to a new stage of life. That is why we have joined forces with the best specialists to create a special training course to launch in the Ternopil region, — Vadym Misyura, Director of the International Charitable organization Foundation in Ukraine said.
More than 26,000 internally displaced persons have passed through the educational institutions in the Ternopil region to date. However, there are many people in the region who need qualified help to answer the questions of how they should live and act if their houses are destroyed.
— I want to thank the partners who help us in the Ternopil region. Today’s training is extremely relevant and necessary for us. None of us understands how to provide psychological assistance to people who have seen explosions, or how people die. It’s terrifying. It is not easy to understand how to calm the souls of war witnesses. Therefore, such training for IRC psychologists is an extensive experience in learning how to work with children with war traumas. This is one of those educational processes that are very important, — said Olga Khoma the head of the Department of Education and Science.
«Psychological Support in Crisis» course was developed by experts of the Israeli Trauma Coalition. One of the lecturers of the course is Denys Denysenko — psychologist, master of health care management, and certified Gestalt therapist, who helps to organize humanitarian aid to the population in crisis. The course materials include psychological and emotional first aid protocols used in Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom, including self-help and assessment techniques, assessments, and acute reactions and trauma.
— Israel Trauma Coalition (ITC) is a non-profit organization with over twenty years’ experience in trauma care, psychosocial training, resilience and emergency preparedness. Facing a complex reality of ongoing terror and the ever-present potential of war, Israel is a country on high alert. This long experience preparing for and coping with crisis makes ITC experts among the most knowledgeable on the global map. Given these hard-earned lessons, it is fitting that ITC is willing to share its expertise with the Government of Ukraine and Ukrainian people in a time of such a dire need, – commented Max Goldenberg, Director of the Israeli Trauma Coalition’s International Training Program.
It is to be noted that this project was created with the support of the Department of Education and Science of Ternopil regional state administration. Since the war started, the head of the department, Olga Khoma, together with the team, has been doing everything possible to protect the residents of the Ternopil region and the people who fled here from other regions. The Foundation has also joined the request to help with the region’s basic needs. The next step is a social initiative – the educational course «Psychosocial Support in Crisis» – which will be implemented in other regions of Ukraine.
