The study visit on Trauma, PTSD and psycho-social support was organised for Ukrainian authorities on 4-8 December 2016 in Jerusalem, Israel within the Council of Europe project “Strengthening the Human Rights Protection of Internally Displaced Persons in Ukraine”.  The study visit was organised by the Pompidou Group and hosted by Israel Trauma Coalition.

“It is highly relevant for Ukraine to learn from the Israeli experience in preventing and treating post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) among vulnerable groups”, said the Ukrainian Minister of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons, Mr Vadym Chernysh.

The goal of the study visit was to present good practices that are implemented in Israel in the field of psycho-social support of IDPs.  It focused on the question of quick-to-implement policies, tools and measures that can be easily adapted to the Ukrainian situation with the aim to effectively prevent PTSD and build resilience among Ukrainian IDPs.

Over the four days, the participants met with different stakeholders of the Ministry of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption, Ministry of Health, National Management Authority and visited a resilience centre in Sderot, for civilians who experienced trauma because of rockets attacks.

The study visit provided a platform for an open exchange for Ukrainian policy makers and Israeli experts on current challenges for Ukrainian government as well as on steps forward in addressing internal displacement in Ukraine.