On Thursday, June 18, 2015, our psychologists went to Korostyshiv (Zhytomyrska oblast) within the initial stage of the “Helping Hand for Ukraine” project to conduct the sixth therapy sessions for children, traumatized by war in Eastern Ukraine. The sessions have been conducted in the temporary camp for IDPs (internally displaced persons) in Korostyshiv.
Psychologists worked with three groups of children: the youngest ones (6-8 years old), older kids (9-11 years old) and a group of teenagers. Each group consisted of 8-10 participants. The children talked with psychologists about avoiding places, sounds and conversations about traumatic events. They learned how to measure the level of fear and how to plan little steps on the way to overcome the fear, thus – stop avoiding the memories about the event.
The psychologists also held a fourth session with a group of five parents. Today the parents learned the same techniques their children use and worked with their own feelings and emotions.
After the sessions, our supervisor and professional trainer Natalya Podolyak, provided consultation and methodic support on spot for the team of eight psychologists. On Saturday, June 20, the psychologists will go to Korostyshiv again to conduct the last sum-up therapy session.
