Psychological Service for Ukrainian School Students during the Russian Invasion: Experience of School Psychologists from Kryvyi Rih

Introduction: After eight years of the war in the East of Ukraine, two years of the COVID-19 pandemic with relevant lockdowns, and two months of bomb alerts, school students and school psychologists from Kryvyi Rih have been dealing with new brutal military actions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine since the 24th February 2022. Purpose: This paper focuses on School Psychological Services' changes and challenges caused by the Russian invasion. It assesses war-related psychological effects on school students and school psychologists from Kryvyi Rih. Method: Brief non-structured interviews and the survey. Results and Conclusions: After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, School Psychological Services in Kryvyi Rih continued their work remotely, often combining it with in-person meetings (48.5%) and other volunteer activities (27.9%). The surveyed school psychologists (n=48) informed they conducted more individual consultations and psychoeducation and fewer diagnostics than usual to address school students' changing needs in response to wartime. School psychologists felt more effective and involved with students when they believed they got enough support from colleagues and supervisors, learned crisis interventions, received clear guidance, and did not feel burnout. They appreciated current governmental guidance and felt their post-traumatic growth more when they were safe. After 1.5 months of the war, 43.8% of psychologists experienced burnout. At least a quarter needed additional education, psychological support, easily accessible supervision (especially short and rapid), and guidance for specific cases. © 2023 Lifescience Global.

Psychological Support and Psychotherapy during the COVID-19 Outbreak: First Response of Practitioners

Providers of psychological support and psychotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic unfolding were facing the new unavoidable reality, which required making urgent changes in their practice. The paper aimed to study the “first responses” of psychologists and psychotherapists to the COVID-19 pandemic situation with its uncertainty before the lockdown. An online survey was developed and distributed among psychologists and psychotherapists from Ukraine from 14 to March 16, 2020. Results showed that among survey respondents (n=145), 35.9% had already changed their practice somehow, and 75.2% had been considering how their practice might be modified. The more often the COVID-19 pandemic was discussed by patients, the more often it affected the style and technique of the corresponding specialists, thereby pushing psychotherapists to change the format of their work. Practice restrictions due to quarantine measures affected more affiliated consultants, while difficulties with setting (e.g., canceled sessions, financial issues) were more frequent among private practice consultants, and both proposed online consultations to their patients. In conclusion, the pandemic situation caused relevant modifications in the organization of psychological and psychotherapeutic support even during the first weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak in Ukraine. The first responses of practitioners were related to (a) their experience and type of affiliation, (b) the main approach, (c) the subjective readiness or non-readiness to modify the usual form of work, (d) the way of interpreting the patient’s anxieties, (e) the lethal cases of coronavirus in the area of living. © 2021. Lifescience Global.