EU countries plan to attract Ukrainians to help fellow citizens
Millions of Ukrainian refugees have fled to Europe since the Russian invasion on 24 February. Many of them need the help of a psychologist: after leaving their homes, they are forced to put up with moving to a foreign country, to cope with acute anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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The greatest need for therapy is for those who have themselves experienced hostilities and witnessed the atrocities committed by Russian troops. Nevertheless, in Europe, not everyone can get to a psychologist due to a lack of staff and a complex system of established rules.
A new challenge for the EU
«This is a new crisis in addition to one more», says Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, director of health policy and systems in the European Region of the World Health Organization.
Psychiatric workers and their medical colleagues have previously faced a societal challenge in the form of burnout and overwork associated with the coronavirus pandemic, she said. Anxiety and depression levels have skyrocketed over the past 18 months due to COVID fears. Now a new challenge is the influx of refugees who need psychological help because of the horrific events they have experienced.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that about 5 million people have fled the country in search of asylum. According to estimates by a subsidiary of the International Organization for Migration, at least 7 million more people have become internally displaced.
Ukrainian psychologists will be recruited to help fellow citizens in Europe
WHO has developed some tools «psychological emergency». In particular, information materials for schools and social workers. However, social workers themselves say that this is not enough.
«This may not be enough for everyone. And yet, you need to identify people who need help, and send them to the appropriate service. No matter how you add up the numbers, they cannot be compared with the predicted needs of women and children leaving their home country, which has become a war zone,» says Azzopardi Muscat.
«We don't have psychosocial services that can reach even Slovaks. And even more so, we can’t reach all Ukrainians»,” says Andrei Vrshansky, chief executive officer of the League of Mental Health in Slovakia.
Slovakia received more than 300,000 since the beginning of the war Ukrainian refugees. According to a mental health NGO, there are only 45 child psychiatrists in Slovakia who work throughout the country. And to make an appointment with a psychiatrist, on average, you need to wait as long as three months.
The situation is no better in the EU countries neighboring Slovakia, where many Ukrainians are accepted. A 2016 survey by the EU's regional statistical agency found that Poland, the country that hosted the most refugees from Ukraine, had only nine psychiatrists per 100,000 people. This is a third of the same indicator in Germany.
Enlisting the help of the Ukrainians themselves, who have such qualifications and who would speak the same language with the refugees, is a way out in order to at least partially satisfy the needs of war-shaken citizens arriving in Europe, the publication says.
In Slovakia, according to According to Vrshansky, the Mental Health League set up a Ukrainian-language helpline and appointed a psychologist with experience in dealing with acute stress as its leader. She herself had previously left the occupied Donbas.
«For the last three years she worked as a cleaner in Slovakia», Vrshansky said.
The European Commission recommended that Member States recognize the qualifications of Ukrainian specialists, which will allow them to quickly join the health services of the host country.
Earlier, the EU announced the allocation of funds in the amount of 9 million euros for public organizations of this profile, as well as for providing support and counseling for psychological trauma.
Refugees first think about housing, not psychological help — experts
Against the backdrop of a wave of refugees arriving in European countries, experts say that many Ukrainians are «in survival mode» and focused on adapting to new conditions. And the process of overcoming the trauma will begin only after they solve more pressing problems — find housing, work, send their children to school.
It is important to distinguish between basic help and understanding, which absolutely all refugees need, and specialized help A: Only a professional can provide it. A Polish psychiatrist and head of the Department of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy at SWPS University of Warsaw Agnieszka Popiel warns of this.
She helped organize PTSD courses for therapists and more basic counseling training for psychology students.
«Most refugees don't need a psychologist,», Popil said.
Nevertheless, studies of previous waves of migration from Syria point to a high proportion of people who still urgently need such assistance, Politico notes.
Ukrainians overcome the trauma of war
The same process is taking place inside Ukraine: fleeing the war, migrants first look for housing, and only then think about how to somehow calm down. People leave hot spots in search of relative safety in the western part of the country, the newspaper writes.
Child psychiatrist Oleg Romanchuk — among those who help internally displaced persons. He directs the Institute of Mental Health at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. The doctor told the publication that he believes in the resilience of Ukrainians in overcoming the collective trauma of war.
Even before the war, the government had made progress in modernizing mental health care, helping to overcome the legacy of stigma against mental health problems associated with political repression and communist the past of the country, the specialist notes.
According to the psychiatrist, the generation born after the collapse of the Soviet Union is much more open and even willing to talk about mental health problems. And treatment can help even in the most severe cases.
He remembered one little patient: a child witnessed the death of his mother at the hands of Russian soldiers. The child showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder but responded positively to therapy. Under the guidance of the doctor, he wrote letters to his late mother about his hopes and dreams.
«The boy is more and more filled with light and love. I don't think it will be trauma for generations. At least I really hope so», said the child psychiatrist.