American and Ukrainian psychologists are collaborating to develop emotional rehabilitation workshops for Ukrainian veterans and their families, A recent event was held on the eve of the Ukrainian Independence Day Celebration. Participants gathered at the Veteran Hub on August 23, in Kyiv, according to the press release.
These events are sponsored by Chiraj’s founder, Rajeev Fernando, M.D., a Harvard-trained disaster medicine physician, who supplies medical support to those on the front line. Other sponsors include: International Association of Applied Psychology and the World Council for Psychotherapy. The Ukrainian psychologists at the Kyiv Center, Oleksandr Zharokv, Dmutro Tutyla and Irina Scheveleva, will demonstrate their art therapy techniques, Mandala paintings.
Trauma experts, Judy Kuriansky, Ph.D., and Joseph Geraci, Ph.D., from Columbia University, Teachers College along with their staff, Julia Maney, Caroline Burke, June Chang, and Carl Tauberman, are assisting with group interventions to promote wellness, resilience, and recovery. As was the case in their post-Katrina recovery workshops, Dr. Kuriansky, has paired with the Neuropsychology Center of Louisiana’s (NCLA) founder, Darlyne G. Nemeth, Ph.D., M.P., M.P.A.P., CGP, and her assistant, Cody Capps, to collaborate in this train-the-trainer style of intervention.
“We are emphasizing group intervention techniques,” said Dr. Nemeth. “The three psychologists in the Ukraine are doing the work onsite, and the rest of us are participating via Zoom. Our work is then translated into the Ukrainian language and delivered by our onsite colleagues.”