Psychologists in Ternopil have mastered new skills of working with those affected by the armed conflict

During September 6-8, 2019, the training "Psychological First Aid and Crisis Intervention" was implemented in Ternopil. The trainers – Iryna Tkach, clinical psychologist and trauma therapist, and Olena Sudakova, a medical psychologist-psychotherapist, PhD in Psychology – shared knowledge and skills on the subject of the event. 31 people took part in the training. This is the final event of a series of training courses we conducted in 2019.

Iryna Tkach and Olena Sudakova noted that participants gained knowledge on coordination mechanisms, community mobilization, correct provision of information and redirection system according to IASC guidance, and also mastered practices of positive interventions in the process of providing assistance in emergencies and the "human resources" system.

"As a result of the training, participants learned how to mobilize the community according to a single algorithm with coordination, useful practices and a mechanism for preserving their own resources, as well as how to provide information to beneficiaries. During the training, participants have built an algorithm for providing assistance from an "event" to a period of "stabilization". They also learned the method of First Psychological Aid. From now on, participants have a tool for quick and useful assessment of the needs and conditions of patients, providing assistance regarding their condition/needs at different stages of stabilization. They know how to provide professional assistance to those who have experienced emergencies (to those affected by the armed conflict in Ukraine) and how to distinguish when and which intervention to apply," the trainers said.

Besides, according to the trainers, a positive effect was the fact of a great cohesion of the group. "This level of cohesion, in turn, had a positive effect on the dynamics of the group, and, as a result, on the level of mastering the material," Olena Sudakova and Iryna Tkach concluded.

The training was implemented within the "Crisis prevention and Peace building in Ukraine – Time to Act!" project, supported with German Federal Foreign Office’s funds by IFA (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen), Funding programme zivik.