In March and April “Children and War. Teaching Recovery Techniques” group sessions took place within the “Helping Hand for Ukraine” project in Dnipro and Berezne, Rivne region. Experienced trainers worked with children and their parents, helping them to overcome stress, fears, pain, and losses. Thanks to simple and effective self-help techniques, school-age children and adults have the opportunity to heal from the psycho-emotional wounds of war, they become calmer and more self-confident.

We thank the project trainers from the “Valena” extracurricular development center in Dnipro – Olena Surda and Tetyana Oliynyk, as well as Olena Lysyanska and Tetyana Drabych from the city of Berezne, Rivne region (resource room of the Berezniv Lyceum No. 3) for the photos.

We are sincerely grateful to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) for the financial support of our project!

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On March 30-31 and April 1, the “Children and War. Teaching Recovery Techniques” training was held in Lutsk as a part of the “Helping Hand for Ukraine” Project. The training was held in cooperation with Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University for twenty students and teachers of the Psychology Faculty of the university. Together with project trainers Iryna Sukhova and Tetyana Oboyanska the participants attentively studied self-help techniques, and received inspiration for further practical work with children and adults traumatized by the war. We express our sincere gratitude to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) for the financial support of our project.

Feedback from the participants:
Dariya Hoshovska, associate professor of Pedagogical and Age Psychology Department of Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University: “The topic of the training is extremely relevant for me, as I work with children who are experiencing PTSD. The self-help techniques and resourceful exercises were the most useful. High professional level of the trainers, clearly structured materials, useful exercises, accessible and clearly explained techniques. Thank you for your cooperation!”

Anna Vlasyuk, Psychology Faculty student of Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University: “Currently, due to the events in Ukraine, “Children and War” is a very relevant topic for everyone. Although I was not strongly affected by the actions of the enemy, I have a great desire to help those who need it. The games and exercises for the children were very interesting. We “tested them on ourselves”. Everything was clear and informative. I am impressed by the trainers; they presented the material in a great way. I want to wish them success and good luck in the future.”

Yuliya Rozmyrska, associate professor of Pedagogical and Age Psychology Department of Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University: “The program is especially relevant due to the lack of structured rehabilitation programs during or after military operations. The following part of the training were useful: the protocol for conducting sessions, techniques, games during breaks, methodical materials, offline learning atmosphere. The training should be mandatory (!) for all the psychologists who study and prepare to work with traumatized children and adults, for all school psychologists, for everyone who is interested and for whom the topic is relevant”.

Iryna Belikova, Psychology Faculty student of Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University: “For me, the topic of the training was relevant, as nowadays children often face situations in which they need help. Imagination techniques were the most useful, as I myself saw the immediate effect. I will recommend the training to my colleagues, because in this methodology there are many effective techniques. The atmosphere in the class was quite warm, which had a positive effect on learning.”

Bohdana Napleta, Psychology Faculty student of Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University: “Training exercises and techniques were incredible. It was cool to do them, they gave me a resource, thoughts, insights. There was probably not enough time, I would like to do more. I am grateful for understanding, atmosphere, support, motivation. I received great experience that I will use in my life. We will make our Ukraine better!”

Dmytro Korets, Psychology Faculty student of Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University: “Since there is a war in our country, this training is very relevant for us. The techniques were the most useful for me and more importantly – the are verified. In general, I recommend this training to everyone who is interested in improving their skills and knowledge in psychology”.

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On March 10-12, 2023, the “Children and War. Teaching Recovery Techniques” training for specialists was held in Vinnytsia as part of the “Helping Hand for Ukraine” project. During three days, 22 participants from Vynnytsia, Kyiv and Khmelnytskyy were discussing the topics of psychological trauma and losses during the war, as well as learning recovery techniques and testing them “on themselves”. Learning by doing is the best way to learn. This is how you can check the effectiveness of the techniques, understand how they work and what results they give. The training was conducted by Project trainers and psychologists – Iryna Sukhova, Nataliya Podolyak and Khrystyna Kravchenko. The training was held in cooperation with the Donetsk National Vasyl Stus University. We sincerely thank our partners! A special thanks to our Canadian partner – the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) – for financial help and support in these difficult times for Ukraine!

Feedback from participants:
Viktoria Bilyak: “The training was relevant. The techniques and the trainers’ stories about personal experience and various cases were the most useful. I am sincerely grateful for creating a favorable climate for comfortable learning and great presentation of information.”

Tetyana Konovalyuk: “Theory and exercises, which are simple and easy to use – were the most useful. Everything was interesting, laconic, concise. Relevant, practical, and effective tools. Thank you!”

Hanna Povolotska: “I work at a school and lead psychological support groups in Vinnytsia, so I’m very glad that I got into such a circle of like-minded people. The most useful thing was that we went through the theoretical and practical aspects, and the entire program of psychological sessions. Thank you.”

Maryna Stadnyk: “The training is relevant, especially the detailed explanation of each technique and the trainers’ own experience, their stories from life. I am very grateful to the trainers and the group. The learning was easy and interesting, the atmosphere in the group was comfortable and safe”.

Lisa Uryupa: “The training was relevant for me, because I work with children and I see the need to learn such techniques. They were also useful for me personally. The most useful thing is personal experience of the trainers. I really liked it. It was useful, and I am waiting for implementation of all acquired knowledge!”

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On March 04, 2023, HOPE worldwide Ukraine team met with the representatives of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) and HOPE worldwide Canada. The Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) has provided a grant towards the “Helping Hand for Ukraine” – trauma therapy program, which trains instructors to work with war trauma in children and adults using the unique methodology “Children and War. Teaching Recovery Techniques”.
During the meeting the “Helping Hand for Ukraine” project team reported about the activities and outcomes for the last 3 months. The project leader Iryna Sukhova told how we train the trainers, about therapy sessions with children and adults all over Ukraine, conducted with donor support. Participants of the meeting also discussed the plans for 2023 and opportunities for further cooperation.

The demand for “Children and War. Teaching Recovery Techniques” online therapy sessions is still high in early 2023. Both for the trainers of the program and for the participants of therapy sessions they serve as a great support. With total blackouts and constant sounds of sirens, when it is not possible to leave the bomb shelter for a long time, it is very difficult to find time for home, work, school and in addition to attend therapy sessions. At the same time, these difficult circumstances should not be the reason to cancel studies, work, life.

Online groups help participants and trainers to be more mobile. They provide an opportunity to learn self-help techniques distantly. The result is the most important thing: during online therapy both children and adults are healing; they become calmer and more confident, stabilize their emotional state, get rid of fears, obsessive memories and pain.

We are thankful to our trainers, Khrystyna and Leila Kravchenko from Kramatorsk, Vyacheslav and Tetyana Naumov from Kyiv, Viktoriya Trystan and Lyubov Shavrova from Kryvushi gymnasium and Rokytne gymnasium (Poltava region) for provided photos.

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In January-February 2023, “Children and War. Teaching Recovery Techniques” therapy sessions for children and adults were held in Chernihiv city and Zhytomyr region. The sessions are held in an atmosphere of warmth, trust and sincere communication, fun and friendship. At the same time the participants work through their pain, difficult emotions, fears and losses related to the war. We thank the trainers, Yulia Rybalchenko and Nataliya Babych from the Myropil Gymnasium (Zhytomyr Region), and Olena Dudko and Olga Stanovska (“Children’s Point. TOGETHER” project, Chernihiv) for the provided photos and invaluable work.

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In January and February 2023, three 2-day online trainings “Children and War. Teaching Recovery Techniques” were held for practical psychologists, teachers, social service providers as part of the “TOGETHER. Social services” project. There were so many applicants – more than 100 people for the first training announced in January, that the organizers (charity fundations “HOPE worldwide Ukraine” and “SOS Children’s Villages Ukraine”) decided to hold additional “Children and War. TRT” trainings for all those interested. In total, 120 specialists were trained. The trainings were conducted by the psychologists of the “Helping Hand for Ukraine” project – Iryna Sukhova and Tetyana Oboyanska. We thank all partners for fruitful cooperation! Our sincere gratitude goes to Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) for the financial help and support.

The “TOGETHER” project is implemented by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and a consortium of partner organizations: “Ukrainian Network for Children’s Rights”, “Every Child” Partnership, “SOS Children’s Villages Ukraine”, “Social Synergy”, “Dnipro League of Social Workers” and NGOs “VO” Class”.

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On February 17-19, 2023, the trainers’ team of the “Helping Hand for Ukraine” project conducted a 3-day “Children and War. Teaching Recovery Techniques” in Kyiv. 25 participants were learning theoretic foundations and practical implementation of the methodology to be able to work with groups of children and adults helping them to cope with war trauma. During the training they mastered self-help techniques, planned their future work, played, talked and rested during the breaks. The topic of stress from war is very up-to-date and serious, and undoubtedly there is a lot of work to do in this area. The training was conducted by Iryna Sukhova, Nataliya Podolyak, and Olena Bozhor.

We are grateful for cooperation with our partners, Kyiv City Teachers’ House, Institute of Social and Political Psychology, Podil District Organisation of Kyiv Red Cross. We also express our sincere gratitude to Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) for financial support.

Participants’ feedback:
Oksana Lopatynska: “I liked active exercises. The training was full of information. 10 points. I will recommend it to my colleagues. I really missed offline trainings, thank you for this opportunity!”

Oksana Shymanska: “These techniques (exercises) are very effective! I had an opportunity to use them several times during the training process, they really work! Thank you! I wish you further success in your work!”

Yuliya Pohrebnya: “The most useful thing was the analysis of techniques. There was not enough time to try out all the techniques. The atmosphere was dynamic, presentation of the material – professional, methods – effective. I received a lot of,inspiration for further work”.

Viktoriya Pivnenko: “It was incredibly useful for me that all the techniques were systematized, divided into stages according to how they should be presented. The material on neurophysiology was very well explained. What to do to make traumatic memories disappear, what to do to make them less intense. I’m grateful to have participated in the training; it was easy for me to learn the new material, which I will gladly use in my work”.

Nataliya Vorona: “Trainers’ team did a great job. I filled my “backpack” of tools with a lot of self-help techniques and other information. Now I need to reflect and structure my knowledge and use it effectivley”.

Marta Ivanova: “The tools are very interesting. It is important that they can be used not only for children, but also for adults. Thank you for your work! It is very valuable”.

Iryna Horodynets: “The training is intense and at the same time easily and clearly structured. The most useful thing was that all the information was supported by situations from experience and practice”.

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Since the beginning of 2023, “Anti-stress box: a set of practical exercises for psychological help” mini-training sessions have been held in the de-occupied territories of Ukraine. They are aimed at emotional stabilization, self-help and regulation of a person’s psychological state. This is a joint project of the “HOPE worldwide Ukraine” and the “Psychologists at War” project of the NGO “Ukrainian Association of Psychotherapists and Business Trainers”. The main part of the trainings consists of practical exercises of the “Children and War. Teaching Recovery Techniques” program. They help children and adults to cope with pain, anxiety, fears, intrusive memories related to stress and caused by the war. Therapy sessions were held in Kyiv region – Velyka Dymerka, Borodyanka and other settlements. We are grateful to Anastasia Bilozor, trainer of the “Children and War. TRT” program, for cooperation and the initiative to conduct the trainings.

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On February 11, 2023 the certificates were awarded to the new trainers of the “Children and War. Teching Recovery Techniques” program in Irpin. The new specialists from the cities of Irpin and Bucha (Kyiv region) were trained in November 2022 thanks to the joint cooperation of the “Helping Hand for Ukraine” and “Zoryanytsia” (mental health recovery space) projects. And now the new trainers have a difficult yet important job – to conduct therapy sessions for children and adults who survived the occupation and many losses due to war against Ukraine. The pain of the traumatic experience does not go away by itself, but haunts a person for a very long time. That is why every inhabitant of the Kyiv region, which was under occupation, needs knowledge and skills to stabilize their own emotional state, as well as the emotional state of the children close to them. We sincerely thank Tasha Cherednyuk, the inspirer of this project, for cooperation, and congratulate our new trainers! Our sincere gratitude goes to Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) for the financial help and support.

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