The long-term training on treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and strengthening community resilience (hereinafter – LTT) organised by the Council of Europe Project “Internal Displacement in Ukraine: Building Solutions. Phase II” in October 2021-August 2022.
LTT
The LTT was the most long-lasting capacity building activity of the Project in its history.
The idea of the LTT was discussed with authorities and activists of the partner communities of the Project (Berdyansk, Kramatorsk, Kryvyi Rih, Storogynets, and Tairove) and formulated in working plans developed by the Project and the partner communities.
The LTT included three training modules (Trauma; Supervision and intervention; Loss); online supervisions, and use of the skills participants gained in their daily practice.
20 people were selected to participate in the LTT. They unevenly represented the partner communities: Berdyansk (6), Kramatorsk (5), Kryvyi Rih (5), Storogynets (3), and Tairove (1).
The flow of the LTT was seriously interrupted twice: by Covid 19 lockdowns and the full-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine. Despite this the Project managed to carry it on and to achieve significant results: 17 psychologists, social workers, and NGO activists were trained and certified (1 ECTS).
Methodology of the assessment
The assessment of the results of the LTT is an external evaluation carried out by Kharkiv Institute for Social Research in November 2022, four months since the official end of the activity.
Method: phone interview (12 questions). 14 participants and 2 trainers were interviewed 20-40 min each.
Online survey
The toolkit “Traumatic events: psychological support and self-care” was tested and disseminated in the framework of the LTT. In order to assess the effect of the Toolkit, online survey held in mid-November 2022. Practitioners of the helping professions were invited to answer 6 questions filling a Google form anonymously.
Trainers and participants of the LTT shared the link to the survey focusing on specific social media communities of the practitioners of the helping professions: social workers, psychologists, youth workers.
The Toolkit was published on July 28 2022. On November 28 2022 it was viewed and downloaded 6870 times. This makes the Tookit the most popular e-publication of the Project.
53 people took part in the online survey voluntarily and anonymously.
Overview of key findings
I. The LTT achieved a positive effect on IDPs and the war-affected population.
All participants of the LTT applied their skills by a) consulting IDPs and the war-affected people; b) advising to their colleagues c) sharing the Toolkit "Traumatic events: psychological support and self-care" and a silicon bracelet with a technique of first psychological aid. This allowed to reach out to wider groups of practitioners, whereby, to multiply the effect of the LTT in partner communities.
II The Project managed to adapt the LTT to war realities and to prepare practitioners to respond to the acute needs of IDPs and affected populations.
The LTT was seriously affected by the war in Ukraine. 13 out of 20 participants and trainers became IDPs or refugees. This resulted in
a) change of format and the programme of the activity;
b) drop out of three participants and low participation of a few more;
c) weakening of the connection between the Project and the partner communities.
At the same time the Project and trainers managed to adapt the programme and
a) to promote the tools the participants can apply right away in their current situations such as first psychological aid and acute stress coping techniques;
b) to strengthen an online component of the LTT by organising extra meetings and supervisions;
c) to maintain a community of peer support and experience exchange between the participants of the LTT.
III The toolkit “Traumatic events: psychological support and self-care” as a part of the LTT is a resourceful tool for the strengthening of community resilience.
Top four techniques applied by the practitioners of the helping professions are long-term resilience techniques; acute stress-coping techniques; first psychological aid; the intervision peer to peer techniques. This allowed to provide relevant and in time support to IDPs and affected population at local level.
IV The LTT was not successful in forming of multi-disciplinary teams of practitioners in partner communities to use a unified approach to react to traumatic events and psychological trauma.
No multidisciplinary teams recognised by local authorities created in partner communities. Participants are acting individually or establishing partnerships on their own. Most of them left their communities because of the occupation and other insecurity factors. Therefore, the transfer of knowledge to large groups of practitioners in partner communities was impossible. Only a few participants delivered a knowledge transfer training in their communities
However, the Project managed to sustain a strong community of peer support. Informal communication and experience exchange between the LTT participants goes on for 4 months since the official end of the activity.
V There is a need for further advancement of the LTT to sustain and amplify its results.
Considering a variety of profiles and issues of IDPs and the war-affected people, there is a need to expand the focus of the LTT to new target groups and beneficiaries, including, military personnel, members of their families, people who survived occupation etc. The Programme and the Toolkit should be adjusted accordingly.
The idea of multi-disciplinary teams of practitioners in partner communities to use a unified approach to react to traumatic events and psychological trauma should be further promoted.
Psychologists are the majority among the participants of the LTT. The engagement of other practitioners of the helping professions from partner communities (social workers, medics, paralegals etc.) is still crucial for the strengthening of community resilience.
The capacities of the certified participants of the LTT may be further advanced by new trainings or mentoring. At the same time, the core group of the community of peer support of the LTT should play a leading and expert role in further knowledge transfer.
