20-22 of June 2017 in Kreminna, Luhansk region, the Council of Europe Project “Strengthening the Human Rights Protection of Internally Displaced Persons in Ukraine” in cooperation with Luhansk regional center of social services for family, children and youth organized a training “Preventing burnouts of professionals working with IDPs and affected population”.

Creating a space for informal mutual learning and support, the training sought to achieve the following objectives: to inform participants about professional and emotional burnouts and stress factors, to discover security technics against burnouts and stress, to develop skills for mobilization of inner resources to overcome stress situations.

Participants of the training represented local departments of social protection, pension funds and centers of social services from 10 districts of Luhansk region (3 contact line districts and other areas with the largest number of registered IDPs). Being staff members of the services directly working with clients (IDPs and affected population) participants mostly never took part in such trainings.

According to the agenda, participants learnt about themselves, their factors of burnouts and then tried to discover different sources of psychological renovation, practiced art, breathing, talking methods. They elaborated personal stress-coping strategies and security technics.

Additionally, the training enhanced capacities of professionals to respond to the needs of IDPs and promoted integration and positive community relations.

As evaluation showed, the activity went quite effective. It was extremely important for the target group, and at the end 90 % of participants asked for further contacts with the trainer for follow-up supervision.