From September 28 to 30, 2024, the Kyiv Museum of the Revolution of Dignity hosted an author's training for psychologists "Peculiarities of couple counseling of families of military personnel and veterans." The event was organized by Maryna Syrytsia and Maria Oliynyk, specialists of the "Yarmiz" Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation Center. This is the first such event in Ukraine, where mental health specialists deepened their knowledge in helping married couples in the conditions of war. Training for psychologists was free of charge.
The training was organized within the framework of the project "Standing family - strong country" with the support of the International Foundation "Renaissance".
According to Maryna Syritsa, the idea of such training has been discussed for several years: "It was important for us to combine theoretical knowledge and practical experience in order to provide specialists with tools for working with military families. During the first week of registration, almost 200 specialists from various regions responded.
The participants of the training discussed methods of counseling couples, in particular, they touched on the topics of secure attachment, family needs, challenges that arose in the process of work, as well as crisis situations. The invited speaker, clinical psychologist Sofia Terlez, talked about emotionally-focused therapy.
Maria Oliynyk, the co-author of the training, concluded: "We learned to talk about vulnerability and deal with it. To discover courage in ourselves and in the couples with whom we are so close. To talk about love again, even in the midst of death and loss. This is a step forward in working with couples in our country."
The positive feedback from the participants emphasizes the relevance of such events, so the organizers are already working on a new stream of training.