The other day, psychologists and trainers from the Yarmiz Center conducted a three-day training in pair counseling for specialists from veteran organizations that are part of the Coalitions of Veteran Spaces.
The training took place in Training Center "ReStart. Human Capital Restoration Platform" with the support of and International Renaissance Foundation. The focus is on real challenges that couples face: loss of trust and sense of belonging, changes in relationships after serious injuries, return from captivity, long waits, taboo topics. Behind each of these points are living stories, pain and attempts to maintain contact. Most of the requests that families make concern crisis counseling.
"The psychologist's task is not to solve the problem for the couple. These are adults who must learn to find solutions on their own. Our role is to support and encourage this process, even if sometimes the couple comes to understand that there may not be a quick or unambiguous solution," explains Maryna Syritsa, director of the YARMIZ Center. She, together with her colleague Olga Kuharuk, conducted this training.
“The training is aimed at working with psychologists with different backgrounds to form a basic foundation for counseling families in crisis, including taking into account support needs and referrals to specialized help. Its goal is to provide tools for working with couples through the prism of military experience, returning from service, waiting experiences, and trauma that affect relationships,” adds psychologist Olga Kuharuk.
The Yarmiz Center has been working with couples counseling since 2019 and is systematically developing the direction of family work. The full-scale war has significantly changed the dynamics of relationships in couples. Those who remain in the rear live in constant tension. Burnout in relationships is becoming a common phenomenon, and the need for support is increasingly felt.
Nobody taught us how to build relationships during war. But it can be learned. There are tools, there is experience, there is a professional community that is ready to share knowledge and take responsibility for the quality of assistance.
