Olena Anoprienko: “During the war, teachers must have the skills of crisis psychological assistance”

With the start of the full-scale war, Ukrainian education faced a new challenge – thousands of children were traumatized and now require professional psychological rehabilitation.

In addition to that, most teachers do not have the skills to provide assistance in crisis psychology. Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Olena Anoprienko, believes that parents should monitor the psychological condition of children more closely and that the state should not delay the development and implementation of national psychological rehabilitation programs.

The category of children who are in long-term inpatient treatment is particularly vulnerable. In the largest children’s hospitals, such children study in the Superheroes Schools, where they receive the necessary psychological help. Psychologist Olena Anoprienko, who has been cooperating with the Superheroes School at the “Okhmatdyt” capital clinic for several years, talked about things that parents and teachers need to pay attention to in order to provide children with psychological help in a timely and effective manner.

It should be noted that this year, during the Global Teacher Prize 2022 national award for teachers, the TV presenter of 1+1 and the United News Marathon, the curator of the Right to Education and the Superheroes School will traditionally make her “Choice of Heart” and honour two teachers: a brave class teacher and a school psychologist-pedagogue, who works with children injured during the war. Psychologists are currently under an incredible burden: they are the ones who heal children’s hearts and need special attention. Share the stories of the heroes of the educational front using this link

Children traumatized by war require psychological rehabilitation

During the war, children undergoing long-term inpatient treatment acquire a new traumatic experience. What kind of psychological rehabilitation will they need?

During the war, children experience a traumatic effect on their sensitive psyche. Children can witness shelling, observe the destruction of their hometown or village, or even their own homes. They can see wounded or dead, witness torture and murder, and mass killings of people. They may also suffer heavy losses, and see how their family members and friends get injured or die. In addition to all of that, children themselves can get injured. Such an experience can lead to various psychological problems. Children who have serious illnesses and have received psychological trauma related to the war are particularly traumatized: those injured in the result of hostilities, those who have lost loved ones, witnessed shelling, explosions, displaced persons, etc. Such children need psychological rehabilitation and constant work with the consequences of psychological trauma.

What should parents and teachers pay attention to in children’s behaviour and in which case should they seek help from a psychologist?

For children who are admitted to the hospital with various pathologies and injuries, the first thing their parents and teachers need to pay attention to is the psychological condition the child is in. If the child is anxious, easily stressed, constantly crying, or on the contrary, has become withdrawn, shows signs of change in behaviour, or has fears, you need to contact a psychologist for psychological help. Children with stress disorders can show strong attachment to adults to such an extent that they can even refuse to stay in the room by themselves. They will often recall traumatic stories and can show aggressiveness and excessive cruelty in games, and drawings. Children of preschool and primary school age may refuse to do things they used to do (eat, dress) on their own, pain may appear without physiological reasons (abdominal pain, headache). Adolescents who have experienced the traumatic events of the war can express intense anger, hatred and desire for revenge, fight, or desire to go to war. With such children, sleep is usually disturbed, behaviour is changed and escape into the unreal world of video games, especially of an aggressive and violent nature, is observed.

In the Superheroes School, great attention is always paid to the psychological state of children who are simultaneously studying and undergoing inpatient treatment. What new knowledge and approaches do hospital teachers need to work in the realities of war?

As today’s practice has shown, during the war, teachers who work with children must have the knowledge and skills to provide crisis psychological assistance and have the knowledge of the signs of anxiety disorders in children, in order to respond in time and refer for professional psychological help. Also, an important approach is to strengthen the teamwork of the teacher and psychologist, hold rehabilitation classes aimed at correcting the emotional state of children and group interactive classes with children, such as games and festive events. There is also an urgent need to train teachers with a cycle of training in crisis psychological assistance to work with children, especially during the war. So, the development and implementation of a special program on crisis psychological assistance for children and adults is an important component of a teacher’s professional skills.

The role of a psychologist is emphasized during the war

Over the past three years, the School of Superheroes, organized by volunteers, has quickly turned into an educational network in the largest children’s hospitals in Ukraine. What should be the role of psychologists in working with children and teachers? Is it necessary to develop a special methodology that will be guided by hospital teachers?

Yes, the development of methodological recommendations in the work of a teacher who works in hospital institutions is becoming increasingly important. It will positively influence the process of training organization and provision of psychological assistance in hospital conditions.

How large-scale should psychological rehabilitation programs be in hospital-based and ordinary schools? Why is this important?

During the war, the role of the psychologist in working with the psychological trauma of not only children and parents but also the teaching staff, who are also in a stressful state because of war, is strengthened. The development and implementation of state rehabilitation programs is an important component of maintaining the population’s strong mental health. Psychological rehabilitation programs should be aimed at children, parents, and teaching staff. They should spread across all educational institutions and especially be well-established in the Superheroes Schools located in hospitals.

The role of school psychologists in Ukrainian education is becoming more important every year. What needs to be changed in the public perception of school psychologists in order for their work to be more effective?

Yes, the role of school psychologists in Ukrainian education is becoming more significant and requires new approaches and knowledge in providing psychological assistance to children. It is important that the process of training psychologists includes knowledge of the skills of working with psychological trauma associated with war and psychological rehabilitation programs for children. When training psychologists, special attention should be paid to the study of the psychology of stress and the psychology of activity, the psychology of motivation and decision-making, the psychology of crises and the psychology of meaning; mastering the methods of one’s own potential, managing one’s own behaviour in crisis situations and adaptation to special conditions of existence, consultative and psychotherapeutic methods; understanding of problems related to assessment, prediction and optimization of children’s mental states.

You can read the original article on the TSN platform