In Volyn there is a small town – Gorokhiv. Small in size, but the people who live here have big hearts, loving and bright. Four wonderful trainers of the program “Children and War. Teaching Recovering Techniques” work in Gorokhiv with adults and children injured by the war. Thank you, incredible Marina Sokol, Maryana Kozosh, Maryana Davydyuk and Oksana Lugovska-Fesenko, for your love and inspiration! Photos and reviews of group participants will tell more about the work of our coaches.

I express my sincere gratitude to the organizers and lecturers for creating the group of psychological support! Your professional abilities and unsurpassed charisma, despite the war, inspire you to move, to live, to love … to invest a part of yourself in good deeds! The trainings conducted by you make me stop, rethink life before the war and during the war! They help not to lose myself, but on the contrary – help those who also need support! When we return to our hometown, we remember your instructions and advice in those moments when we stop ourselves and do not let negative emotions move us! You can realize the hope of perceiving the world differently!
Iryna, Brovary, Kyiv region.

My dear girls Maryanka and Marinka! Honestly, I fell in love with you, revealed my psychological problems, such as self-doubt, overcame some fears, I understood what I needed, and for the most part I understood what I wanted in this life, I managed to cope with PTSD. You are incredible, it is a pity that I did not have the opportunity to meet you before. It’s just that fate brought me to be with you. You are the only ones who helped me.
Olena, Gorokhiv, Volyn region.

At the beginning of March this year, my family moved from Mykolayiv to Gorokhiv. It was a quick but difficult decision. For 8 weeks Gorokhiv has been home to me, my husband and our children. We were greeted with great care and warmth. But psychologically it was very difficult. We felt guilty that we had gone; devaluation of щгк feelings (because someone had to go through much more); isolation, irritability, anger, apathy, mood swings; shame to accept help; detachment from reality, inability to make plans for the future; grief for parents and the inability to hug them; a lot of fears; poor sleep, various disorders of the body. The social worker introduced me to Marina Sokol, and so I got into a group of women who became very close to me in our cohabitation. They gave me the tools to help me cope with my feelings. I learned that everything that happens to me is normal at such an abnormal time, and others have the same feelings. The openness of other women was healing for me. The war also released my old dragons and I managed to put them in order. They sleep quietly in caves, and some flew away. For me, these meetings were like a treasure. It is difficult for me to convey value in words, but I am grateful with all my heart and soul. And many thanks to those who made this program possible for me for free.
Elena, Mykolayiv.

Once again, I am sincerely grateful to you for the time, for the knowledge and the usual everyday conversations about everything! Thank you all, girls! No wonder we met with you! Each of us needed it!
Inna, Kharkiv.

You are wonderful and each of you has its own improbability. I don’t even remember when I had such a cool and useful time before our acquaintance, 2 hours flew by like 2 minutes. THANK YOU. It is simply impossible to convey all the emotions and impressions I received during the lesson, everything was unsurpassed! I met confident and successful girls. I really liked the atmosphere of trust in our group, thanks to which I felt real changes. I am proud of each participant of the incredible project.
Tanya, psychologist, Gorokhiv, Volyn region.

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Since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, a team of Kyiv psychologists from the “Helping Hand for Ukraine” project has trained more than 300 new trainers in the program “Children and War. Teaching Recovering Techniques”. We truly thank you, Iryna Sukhova, Natalia Podoliak and Olena Bozhor, for your dedication, love for your work and people, for your experience and care for the emotional and psychological health of Ukrainians! Most novice coaches are already working with children’s and adult groups on this program and need supervision. Because what is supervision? It is an opportunity to receive support, answers to questions and additional training. You ask, “Why to study again?” There is an answer is in the parable.

One day a student called a teacher to a competition because he was sure that he knew and knew as much as he did, and even more. He offered him to cut firewood (a young student would be definitely smarter than an old teacher!), and he agreed. They started in the morning – the work was in full swing. Within hours, the student heard the teacher’s ax fall silent on a nearby lawn. “Yeah, tired!” – and the student began to cut even faster. In the afternoon the ax fell silent again, then again … The student was very tired, but did not stop for a second. When we summed up in the evening, it turned out that the teacher had won. “How could this happen?! I heard that you stopped and didn’t cut!” Shouted the student. “Yes it’s true. I stopped because I was sharpening my ax at that time”, – the wise teacher replied.

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On May 5 in Drohobych, Lviv region, certificates were awarded to new trainers of the program “Children and War. Teaching Recovering techniques”. Drohobych currently has high-level psychologists. We wish you, dear colleagues, inspiration in your work and do not stop in your professional growth! The participants of the festive meeting shared their experience in Drohobych, Stebnyk and Truskavets. As a result of this work, more than 60 children and adults received psychological assistance and more than 300 people (including militarians, migrants, children) were able to get acquainted with some techniques of this program. “It is not difficult to work on the “Children and War “program, and the results are very pleasing”, was the only opinion that united all those participants at the presentation of certificates. And there is a lot of work ahead: we have thousands of people waiting for us who have found temporary shelter in Drohobych region. Therefore, we invite everyone to our team!

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‘- Can I take a picture of you?
– Oh, no-no-no …
– You look good! Let’s take a photo together with the whole group?
– I don’t know, somehow it’s not convenient. I don’t like to be photographed, I always look bad … (starts to run away).
– Well, then tell me about your classes in the group. Is this the “Children and War” program?
– I am very pleased! After leaving the scene of the fighting, I was shaken, and everything was like in a fog. I came to the group meeting, I was asked to fill out a questionnaire, but I was confused, I don’t know what to write. The butterfly technique helped me, we studied this. And the horrible sounds in my head, especially at night, I could not sleep. Explosions, screams. I also overcame it. You see, I’m telling you and I’m not crying, and I couldn’t do that before … I’m not crying for life. Our group coaches are our teachers. They taught me how to calm down and put my thoughts in order. And those horrible sounds also ceased to be in my head.

This is a piece of a short conversation between the leader and psychologist of our “Helping Hand for Ukraine” project, Iryna Sukhova with Olena, a member of the group on the program “Children and War. Teaching Recovering Techniques”, who was evacuated from Mariupol, Donetsk region, to Drohobych, Lviv region. And this is a common situation – adults (unlike children) do not want to be photographed, but they kindly provide feedback. Moreover, they recommend classes to their friends because it helped. Therefore, we present some feedback from participants of group classes held in Drohobych, from Eugenia from Kiev, Lilia from Melitopol and Nikita from Kharkov.

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Classes with children and their parents on the program “Children and War. Teaching Recovering Techniques” continue to be actively held in different parts of Ukraine and abroad. Ukrainians do not leave Ukrainians.
Thank you, our dear coaches, for your passionate love and care for the “wounded” of the war! Thank you for the provided photos of Victoria Overchuk, Olena Malyar and Olena Kuznetsova (Vinnytsia), Mariana Kozosh, Marina Sokil, Mariana Davydyuk and Oksana Fesenko (Gorokhiv, Volyn region), Svetlana Radchenko and Lesya Pavlus Novoyavorivsk (Lviv region), Olga Dziuba (Krakow, Poland).

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There is a metaphor in our project: when we learn techniques for overcoming post-traumatic stress, we seem to fill our imaginary “backpack” with various techniques and tools. With one tool you can overcome the fear of military equipment, with the other – to relax from stress and anxiety, the other – will help to establish a healthy sleep without nightmares. A complete “backpack” with psychological self-help techniques for every occasion and taste – this is what the participants of the groups take with them after completing the course of the program “Children and War. Teaching Recovering Techniques”.
And we have a pleasant tradition to give young participants a real backpack with “tools” for art and leisure. For example, paints, air plasticine, albums and sketchbooks, stickers, puzzles, markers, toys. All of these are also “tools” to continue working on your memories and fears and just for a great mood.

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Sincere thanks to the psychologists and volunteers, participants of the “Helping Hand for Ukraine” project, who have just completed a five-day training program “Children and War. Teaching Recovering Techniques” and started working with children and adults one or two weeks later. They gather groups, meet individually, teach everyone in need self-help techniques to overcome obsessive memories, fears, stress, anxiety, insomnia. Classes are held in different parts of Ukraine and abroad. Maybe not everything turns out perfectly, sometimes professionals have self-doubt, but more love in their hearts. Love wins!
More than 200 children and adults have already been able to take a course of 7 classes under the “Children and War” program and have learned to overcome the consequences of the trauma of war. Thank you for the provided photos to Olena Petrushkevych, Natalia Mudryk, Mariana Melnyk, Natalia Datsenko, Nina Kiyakh, Mariana Kozosh, Marina Sokil, Mariana Davydyuk, Oksana Fesenko, Victoria Polyuza, Svetlana Bilozerskaya.

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On April 5-8, Chernivtsi hosted a training on the program “Children and War. Teaching recovering Techniques” for psychologists, social workers and volunteers. Among the 29 participants of the event were local specialists and temporarily displaced persons. The training was conducted by the head and psychologist of the “Helping Hand for Ukraine” Project Iryna Sukhova. We hope that thanks to the new trainers of the program, children and their parents who found temporary shelter in Chernivtsi will be able to receive psychological help.
We truly thank Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University for cooperation, whose leadership provided the venue for the event and expressed interest in spreading the program “Children and War” in the city.

Some feedback from participants.

Larysa Platash, Associate Professor of Pedagogy and Social Work, Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University: “Learning is extremely useful from several points. First, it had the opportunity to update personal resources to overcome the confusion that arose with the start of the war. Secondly, it enriched the treasury of methodological resources in working with parents and children. Third, I can realize a real opportunity to help others, which is the focus of learning. Thank you for your useful practical work combined with theory. You are doing an extremely useful job”.

Maria Trifan, a specialist at the Chernivtsi City Center for Social Services: “At this difficult time, this is the acquisition of new experience and knowledge that will allow us to work with those who need it in the future. Interesting and simple techniques that can be used even when walking down the street. One of the techniques even helped me to get rid of the memory. Thank you!”

Margarita Kupchanko, operator-psychologist of the Municipal Contact Center at the Executive Committee of the Chernivtsi City Council (Hotline): “For me personally, training is very important right now due to the war in our country and volunteering. Self-help techniques (visualizations, art techniques) were useful. I filled my resource “backpack” to the top with new techniques and resources. Thank you!”

Daniela Cheban, a specialist at №16 Secondary School (Chernivtsi): “The training is very relevant, I received the tools to work with children that I have been looking for a long time. This course was especially resourceful for me, I found like-minded people with whom I can work and implement this project”.

Iryna Horozhanska, a practical psychologist at the Chernivtsi Professional College of Technology and Design: “I found a resource in myself, plus I received a certain therapeutic effect from the group. The training is thorough, informative, and no question was left unanswered. I am infinitely grateful to you, Irina, for deep knowledge, intelligence, experience! Thank you, Polina, for the wonderful organization of the project!”

Olga Luspenyk, private psychological practice (Chernivtsi): “Actual. Currently, there are requests from acquaintances of volunteers who accept migrants abroad and in Ukraine. The most useful were practical moments from the coach’s experience, exercises, metaphors. Thank you for this time, your support and presence”.

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On April 5-7, at the initiative of Christians of the local branch of the Kyiv Church of Christ in the city of Rzhyshchiv, Kyiv region, a training was held under the program “Children and War. Teaching Recovering Techniques”. The territorial community of this settlement has about 10 thousand inhabitants, but since the beginning of the war in Ukraine the city has received many migrants. The event was attended not only by Christians of the church community, but also local experts from the Inclusive Resource Center and the Pii Secondary School, as well as some migrants. The training took place in the premises of the local Evangelical Church and with the support of the mayor of Rzhyshchiv Chornenka Kristina Ivanivna. “Helping Hand for Ukraine” project coach Natalia Podoliak taught ten new specialists to understand the nature of child trauma, heal these wounds through the “Children and War” program, and simple but much-needed ways to help children in this turbulent time in Ukraine.

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Another wave of training on working with the program “Children and War. Teaching Recovering Techniques”. Thus, from March 23 to April 3, online trainings were held for 100 new specialists who are ready to actively work with children and parents affected by the consequences of hostilities in Ukraine. The training was conducted by Kyiv psychologists of the “Helping Hand for Ukraine” project Iryna Sukhova, Natalia Podoliak and Olena Bozhor. The geography of the location of the new coaches is huge. These are Vinnytsia, Melitopol, Khmelnytsky, Chernomorsk, Dnipro, Uzhhorod, Kyiv, Odesa, Kaniv and a dozen other cities of Ukraine. It is also France, Switzerland, Poland, Turkey, Georgia – countries where classes are planned to overcome the trauma of war for Ukrainian refugees.
We truly thank the Vasyl Stus Donetsk National University in Vinnytsia and the Hryhoriy Skovoroda Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky State Pedagogical University for their fruitful cooperation.

Here are the feedback from some participants.

Lilia Malyar: “The program is powerful, you really need to be bold to implement it. But we are strong, and who but us. Thank you very much for bringing me so professionally to the ideas that prompted me to work on myself as well. Thanks for the info. The techniques are great: to draw a dream and its positive ending, “butterfly”, drawing “What will I do after the victory” (Liz Bourbon’s technique was mentioned). May Ukraine prosper!”

Yulia Arsey: “Thank you for your training! In the online format, it is a bit more difficult to accept practical exercises, and your experience has kept all the difficulties to a minimum. I really want to become a practitioner in this program. You are great!”

Alla Fedorov: “Irina and Natalia, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to meet you and work closely. The program is very interesting and informative. I look forward to seeing you again. Peace be upon us!”

Anastasia Moroz: “Thank you for such valuable and important knowledge! I am fascinated by the presentation of the material and the opportunity to hear practical advice from your experience. My expectations were more than met. Ready to get started! Grateful!”

Oksana Savytska: “I sincerely thank you for giving me the opportunity to breathe new knowledge and experience. I’m quite a “bloated ball” now. We will help. This is our contribution to the Victory! I am very grateful, you are professionals, you are beautiful, you are lovely!”

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