Israeli NGO Begins New Mental Health Training In Ukraine

Top Israeli humanitarian aid agency IsraAID has begun the third phase of a three-part program to train psychologists across Ukraine, even as a rise in Russian attacks on civilian targets killed dozens of people this week. 

The third phase in the “Psychologist Doctor Patient” program follows the successful completion of the prior stages, which saw 163 psychologists given specialized training to work at the country’s overburdened medical facilities. 

The project is part of Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska’s mental health program and is being implemented in cooperation with regional healthcare facilities.  

It provides Ukrainian psychologists with specialized expertise, stations them in hospitals and medical facilities, and uses their feedback and experience to refine a model that can be replicated across the country.

“Devastating attacks over the last three days that took lives of over 60 people and injured over 300 are just one more reminder of the urgency of mental health needs in already overburdened Ukrainian hospitals. Doctors and patients are faced with the harshest realities of this war, and they require both an urgent and long-term approach,” said IsraAID Ukraine Protection Program Manager Yulia Breus.

“This set of tools can improve psychological care across the country, at medical facilities of all different levels and types. We’re proud of all that we’ve achieved in the first two phases of this project, and we’re excited to use everything we’ve learned to create long-lasting, systemic change. We remain committed to Ukrainian communities, both now and on the long road to recovery,” she said. 

 “The first person who people go to is a family doctor – they are the front line for psychological support. We had COVID, then we had war. Ukrainians had barely adjusted to COVID reality when the war struck, and we had to deal with psychosocial support for doctors and patients. It was then when a demand for emergency response shaped. We are grateful to IsraAID that they started their training then – when it was so needed,” said Lesya Karnaukh, Deputy Head of Kyiv Oblast State Administration.