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«People to whom we provided psychological support had slurred speech. They all discussed what saved them. We conducted psycho-educational work with people near the impact sites», — tells Maryna Fatieieva, the team leader of psychologists at the Chernihiv branch, about the team's trip to the site of the missile strike in the center of Chernihiv in August.
Our experts think that such visits are important. In such situations, people are confused, often alone, they do not know what to do, do not understand what is happening around them and need psychological support. Usually, our teams don't work at the epicenter of events, but provide assistance to people from neighboring areas who are also in a state of shock but receive much less attention.
During such crisis counseling, psychologists talk to people about what is happening, explain to them that any reaction is normal.
«We did not ask people if they needed psychological help. We asked how they were feeling. And during the conversation, people were coming out of their state of shock.», — tells Natalia Shchetinina, the coordinator of the Kryvyi Rih branch about work during one of the crisis visits.
Our experts, who work near the impact sites, say that quite often they meet teenagers near the epicenter of the events. They are in a changing emotional state, not knowing how to cope with it, how to support themselves and others.
«The teenagers were very frightened, agitated, in a state of shock, because they were there just yesterday evening, and today this happened. The instability of their emotional state was very noticeable, so we taught them self-calming techniques (stabilization through breathing, physical exercises, muscle tension and relaxation), helped them find resources to overcome emotional tension.", — says Maryna Dudnyk, a psychologist at the Kharkiv branch.
«The teenagers were very frightened, agitated, in a state of shock, because they were there just yesterday evening, and today this happened. The instability of their emotional state was very noticeable, so we taught them self-calming techniques (stabilization through breathing, physical exercises, muscle tension and relaxation), helped them find resources to overcome emotional tension.", — says Maryna Dudnyk, a psychologist at the Kharkiv branch.
Realizing that in a state of shock people cannot always process information quickly, our specialists leave them the contacts of the branch and online help lines. After a while, people do contact us. Usually, psychologists receive a lot of requests from parents related to the emergence of a child's fear of sirens and increased anxiety.
Parents themselves also seek psychological help. Our experts always emphasize that the work should be done in a holistic manner - together with the whole family.
Psychologists advise that in times of crisis, you should become a "big ear" for those who need it. If you are with someone who needs support, try to listen to them. When communicating, you should look at the person you are talking to and not be distracted by other things or sounds. You need to devote time to the person you are talking to.
If a child is afraid of the sound of an air raid alert, try to change his or her train of thought. Do not say that missiles are flying, but say that this is a sound that indicates that our air defense system is ready to protect us. So we have to take care of ourselves and go to a safe place.
As for parent-child communication, first of all, parents need to stabilize themselves in order to calmly explain to their child what happened. If the child feels that the mother is emotionally unstable, that she is afraid, this fear is transmitted to the child. You can tell them that a Russian missile did hit the city, but that the relevant services are doing their best to help people. Remember the rule that a stable adult is a stable child.
Together with the child, parents can prepare a backpack with water, child's favorite toy, gum, and coloring books beforehand. This won't completely take away the child's fear, but it can reduce their anxiety. Because the child will have a ready-made action plan in case the air alert starts.
The Voices of Children Charitable Foundation provides free psychological assistance in different cities of Ukraine. You can take a look at the current map of our branches here.
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