(2022) Science and education, 4, 24-28. Odessa.

Olena Bulgakova,
Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Professor,
Professor of the Department of Preschool Pedagogy,
The State Institution “South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushynsky”,
1, Nishchynskoho Str., Odesa, Ukraine
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1750-0349

Maria Savchenkova,
Teacher-intern of the Department of Preschool Pedagogy,
The State Institution “South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushynsky”,
1, Nishchynskoho Str., Odesa, Ukraine
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0009-1904-7713

PSYCHOLOGICAL POSSIBILITIES OF SUPPORTING CHILDREN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE

The article is devoted to the issue of providing effective psychological assistance to children who have experienced a traumatic experience. The authors emphasize that the success of psychological rehabilitation of children and adolescents largely depends on their unique psychological traits. Scientists dealing with crisis psychology have identified stages for providing psychological support to children. In order to provide psychological assistance to children, stages have been identified, which are staged taking into account the specifics of the experienced psycho-traumatic factors. In general, the article provides certain insights into the key stages of psychological support for children who have experienced a traumatic event. It emphasizes the need for a comprehensive and individualized approach that integrates different types of psychotherapeutic interventions to help children cope with the psychological consequences of trauma and prevent long-term psychological problems. Effective psychological support of traumatized children requires a preliminary study of the individual psychological features of the expression of the post-stress state in the life of each child. Proposed stages, which include: first, building a relationship and establishing trust; secondly – diagnosis of the condition and personal characteristics of the child; thirdly – intervention; fourthly – definition of monitoring and monitoring of the condition; fifth – provision of psychological assistance. Each stage is described in detail, as well as examples of interventions that can be used at each stage. The topic highlights the need for early intervention and ongoing support for children who have experienced trauma to promote healing and positive outcomes. The article also describes the important role of parents in providing psychological support to their children during and after a traumatic event. Parents can also constantly help their child feel safe, loved and supported. It is known that constant trust between a child and parents keeps calm and avoids the manifestation of one’s own feelings of fear and anxiety.

child, psychological support, traumatic experience, psychological help, children’s reaction to traumatic events, psychotraumatic factors.

1. Dity ta viyna: navchannya tekhnik ztsilennya : robochyy zoshyt [Children and War: Teaching Healing Techniques: Workbook]. Lviv: nstytut psykholohichnoho zdorovya, 2014. [in Ukrainian]
2. Zlyvkov V. L. & Lukomska S. O. & Fedan O. V. (2016). Psykhodiahnostyka osobystosti u kryzovykh zhyttyevykh sytuatsiyakh [Psychodiagnostics of personality in crisis life situations]. Kyiv : Pedahohichna dumka. [in Ukrainian]

3. Müller M. (2014) Yakshcho vy perezhyly psykhotravmuyuchu podiyu [If you experienced a psychotraumatic event] / trans. from English Diana Busko; of science ed. Kateryna Yavna. (Seriya «Sam sobi psykhoterapevt»). Lviv: Vydavnytstvo Ukrayinskoho katolytskoho universytetu: Svichado. [in Ukrainian]
4. Onishchenko N. V. (2014) Ekstrena psykholohichna dopomoha postrazhdalym v umovakh nadzvychaynoyi sytuatsiyi : teoretychni ta prykladni aspekty : monohrafiya [Emergency psychological assistance to victims in emergency situations: theoretical and applied aspects: monograph]. Kharkiv: Pravo. [in Ukrainian]
5. Psykholohichna dopomoha dityam u kryzovykh sytuatsiyakh : metody i tekhniky: metod. posib. [Psychological assistance to children in crisis situations: methods and techniques: method. Manual] / edited by Z. G. Kisarchuk; Kyiv: Logos. 2015. [in Ukrainian]
6. Psykholohichna dopomoha postrazhdalym vnaslidok kryzovykh travmatychnykh podiy: metodychnyy posibnyk [Psychological assistance to victims of crisis-traumatic events: methodical guide] / edited by Z. G. Kisarchuk; Kyiv: Logos. 2015. [in Ukrainian]
7. Shebanova V.I. Counseling and therapy practices in crisis situations. Kherson: PP Vyshemirskyi V. S., 2017. [in Ukrainian]
8. Shebanova V. I. Psychological assistance to a child who has experienced violence. Kherson: PP Vyshemirskyi V.S., 2017. [in Ukrainian]
9. Cloitre M., Courtois C.A., Charuvastra A., Carapezza R., Stolbach B.C., Green B.L. (2011). Treatment of complex PTSD: results of the ISTSS expert clinician survey on best practices. J Trauma Stress, 24(6), 615–627. doi: 10.1002/jts.20697. [in English]
10. Perry B.D., Szalavitz M. (2017). The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, 3rd Edition: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook : What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love, and Healing. Basic Books. [in English]