From May 10 to 13, the International Institute of Postgraduate Education hosted a training on "Fundamentals of Child and Adolescent Counseling and Trauma Therapy."
The training was attended by 40 participants who learned how to talk to children about war and the loss of loved ones.
In particular, they gained knowledge on the following topics:
- examination of children's trauma;
- techniques for working with children in the field;
- therapy for children's mourning;
- features of work with temporarily displaced families;
- training in children's GTEP "Butterfly Journey" stabilization protocol.
The training took place online for FOUR days from 10 am to 6 pm. Specialists in the field of play and sand therapy conducted classes for children's crisis therapists. Teachers are trained to work by American standards. The program examines the world-renowned evidence-based methods used in psychological counseling.
Christian values are integrated into the educational process.
The educational project has existed in Ukraine since 2016 in cooperation with Regent University (Virginia Beach, USA, the International Institute of Postgraduate Education with the support of the International Mental Health Consulting, Inc.
It is designed to address current challenges of psychological trauma and war for psychologists and other help providers.
If you have interest in these programs, please review the site www.americanprogram.net
Dear friends and partners!
We receive weekly feedback from our participants in stabilization sessions, from our clients, and from psychologists themselves who work eagerly to help people in the midst of war. We want to share with you the feedback from our sessions and work. May this be an encouragement to those who work with people and help in these difficult times, and may it be an inspiration to those who need hope and healing.
Please, keep referring people to us. We have about 10-15 online requests per day and can easily do over 100 requests/day now. Most people require only 1-3 sessions to stabilize themselves or work through recent traumatic event. Our traumatherapists are trained in EMD stabilization techniques and early interventions that allow to deal with recent traumatic event very quickly without asking details, with NO retraumatization.
If you know of someone who needs help, please, have them either fill out a form: https://forms.gle/shGdoUvNQNghXoxY7
OR chatbot form in Telegram: https://t.me/odukraine_bot
n stabilization groups, I am most impressed by the support from therapists. This is very sincere of them, and it is so important for us currently. In my work with clients, I appreciate the moment at the end of the meeting when I ask the client: "How do you feel now?" and in response, I hear, “Thank you! Far better!"
Psychologist of the Open Doors Center
Stabilization sessions helped me cope with my own experiences to relieve stress at the beginning of the war and to overcome the feeling of loss of control. What was especially valuable was that I felt sincere support and connection with my community—that I was not alone. Now stabilization helps to renew strength and connect with my own inner resources, to cope with my emotions, so as not to burn out from compassion for people who are suffering. I am grateful for the opportunity to work and keep myself stable.
Recent attender of the stabilization session
I noted for myself that when talking about the method of bilateral stimulation, most clients at first reacted with disbelief that it would help. When we did this technique, we felt relieved, and in the end, we calmed down and could talk about the event, understanding that this is an effective method. Thanks to stabilization, clients reduced the symptoms of stress, restored their own resources, reestablished contact with their bodies, made important decisions, and overcame life's problems. It is important that after the sessions people had hope and faith in their abilities. Clients have learned to support themselves and their loved ones.
Psychologist of the Open Doors Center
Within the framework of a joint project of the Association of psychological counseling and traumatherapy and the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, psychologists working in state, municipal institutions and volunteer centers can receive a scholarship to study at the Postgraduate Program "Psychological Counseling" at the International Institute of Postgraduate Education in the following areas: traumatherapy and psychological counseling for children and adolescents.
The Traumatherapy program teaches internationally recognized evidence-based methods used in psychological counseling and traumatherapy. They are conducted by American and Ukrainian specialists, trauma therapists according to American training standards.
The Postgraduate Program "Clinical Counseling for Children and Adolescents" will provide psychologists with the unique skills necessary for counseling children and adolescents. The program teaches you how to conduct therapy with the most common children's mental problems. With the support of the Association for Play Therapy (USA), specialists are trained in complex methods of play therapy and working with children that the school cannot cope with.
The training scholarship will be available for psychologists who currently live and work with the military and victims in Ukraine. Preference in the selection process will be given to psychologists who provide assistance to military and civilian population in state and municipal institutions, volunteer centers.
Dear all we have about 70 Ukrainian speaking therapists-traumatherapist and child & adolescent psychologists working within our network. So far we've helped about 130 people who registered through our chatbot in Telegram (https://t.me/odukraine_bot).
We see that people requests shifted from stabilization & shock to acute trauma reactions (high distress levels, anxiety, lack of sleep and appetite, relieving of the events, flashbacks, etc. due to experienced traumatic events of war).
Distress level of higher than 5 on a scale from 0 to 10 (where 10 is highest) is a good enough reason to fill in a form in chatbot and ask for one session https://t.me/odukraine_bot
f you know of someone who may benefit from our services, please, have them either fill out a form:
https://forms.gle/shGdoUvNQNghXoxY7
OR chatbot form in Telegram:
Our website - Center of Psychological Counseling and Traumatherapy "Open Doors" (Kyiv):
On December 14, the work of Special Forces 12 began
Thanks to the Veteran Reintegration Program implemented by IREX, Razom and the Association of Psychological Counseling and Trauma Therapy with the support of the US State Department, 12 veterans (special forces 12) will feel what it is like to work in an IT company with real projects, real deadlines and sometimes even with overtimes. This course is for the most enduring, the bravest, those who are ready for real trials. The 6-month Special Forces 12 program is twice as short as the well-known American Special Forces course Q Course, but it is for the same brave people.
More about this initiative in numbers:
6 months
12 veterans
4 technical mentors
4 counselors/career consultants
2 groups in English
work in the office in Kyiv or online in full presence
1 real project in which there are real clients
processing of large data sets in the project - xml-files over 12GB, sql-tables with millions of records
sprints, backlog grooming, retrospectives, stand-ups
4 counselors and career counselors will constantly work with the Special Forces. How to work in a team, if there happened to be a civilian. How to take a hold on yourself if the client cannot explain the essence of the problem. What to do if it seems that with programming it was a bad idea, it is only for the chosen ones, and in general, the whole world is against you. This is by no means an exhaustive list of what counselors will help you to deal with. We will train not only technical skills, but also stress resistance, without which there is no way to be in IT.
This course is not easy indeed, but you will always be in your team. There will always be support, mentors will help to understand the tasks, colleagues will conduct a review code, and the project manager will help with time planning. In addition, counselors will help with the assessment of career aptitudes and interests, as well as suggest how to find motivation to work. Ours for ours. Among the mentors are comrades in arms who have themselves gone their way from the front to the IT profession.
If you are interested, then go to the project website
Фінал проєкту
“Спецпризначенці 12”
Ось і добіг логічного завершення черговий етап – один із проєктів Veteranius – “Спецпризначенці 12”.
У результаті – 12 ветеранів змінили своє життя, здобули досвід, знайомства, коло спілкування.
Наші психологи, навчені за американськими стандартами, брали безпосередню участь у цьому проєкті, за що їм подяка і пошана. Пишаємось нашими колегами і учасниками проєкту.
