On 4 July 2024, the Council of Europe Project “Protecting the Rights of Ukrainian Children during and in post-war context” presented an online learning course “Specificities of the work of social psychologists with children who have psychological difficulties related to the war”. The e-learning module has been developed by Council of Europe experts on the platform of the Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) Programme of the Council of Europe based on the manual for psychologists “Psychological support and assistance to children who have experienced traumatic events.”

The event was attended by over 20 representatives of relevant ministries and departments, civil society organisations and higher education institutions of Ukraine involved in the training of professionals providing psychosocial support to children who have experienced traumatic events.

In his opening remarks, Maciej Janczak, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, emphasized that ”having to experience traumatic events and losses as part of war or other prolonged conflict can cause serious psychological suffering to children and families. The impact of war can be tremendous, the affected population bearing long-lasting distress and psychological complications even after any acute danger and crisis has ended. To further support the capacity building of professionals providing psychological help and support to children, the Project proceeded with the adaptation of educational and methodological materials for psychologists into the e-learning format.”

Volodymyr Cherniei, Rector of National Academy of Internal Affairs, noted that child protection, including protection of victims of violence and abuse is one of the priorities of the Ministry of internal Affairs of Ukraine. While underlining the role of the police, he added that “the Academy also makes a significant contribution to the training of professionals in the field of psychological support to children who are at the epicentre of military aggression.”

The main goal of the course is to support and improve competences and skills of social psychologists in their professional interaction with children who have psychological difficulties related to the war in accordance with the International scientific methods and practice.

While the course is intended primarily for social psychologists, it can also be useful for other professionals working with children faced with war-related psychological problems: scientific and pedagogical staff of higher education institutions, professionals of the psychological service of the education system (practicing psychologists and teachers), representatives of civil society organisations, students and other related specialists who provide psychosocial support to children and their families.

The project is implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” (2023-2026) by the Council of Europe Children's Rights Division and in close co-operation with the Council of Europe Office in Kyiv.