–A new opportunity has emerged for educators, parents, and school psychologists to gain knowledge about psychological Resilience. The NGO “Smart Osvita,” with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation, has developed a free psychological platform catalog called Resilience. help. It contains educational and methodological resources, tools, techniques, and articles on psychological topics. Information about various training programs for educators and school psychologists offered by “Smart Osvita” is also available.
“This project aims to provide resources to teachers so that they can assist themselves, students, and parents in coping with psycho-emotional challenges and threats during times of war,” said Grigoriy Baran, the director of the “Social Capital” program at the International Renaissance Foundation.
Through Resilience. Help, you can learn more about maintaining inner balance in any circumstances, dealing with traumatic experiences, and restoring productivity. It provides insights into age-specific reactions to traumatic events, overcoming stress in children, and how to talk to children about War.
Resilience. help is a free psychological platform catalog that brings together the best international and domestic practices in providing psychological support to all participants in the educational process, as well as current training programs offered by “Smart Osvita,” including “Psychosocial Support for Educators.” All training programs are certified for professional development.
The platform offers resources to support children’s well-being and materials to help individuals improve their sleep, cope with fears and anxieties, enhance their mood, and regain productivity. Resilience. Help encompasses the best resources, from comprehensive programs with ready-to-use materials to individual videos, games, and e-applications.
“We gather the best practices from around the world, proven in research and scientifically grounded. The best experts in the mental health field teach educators how to cope with stress, withstand challenges, and help themselves and their children become stronger,” said Oksana Makarenko, the head of the psychological direction at “Smart Osvita” and the project manager.
Through the platform, every user can register and have their account to save necessary materials and stay updated on all the platform’s news and training registrations.
Only evidence-based psychotherapy methods were used in developing materials for Resilience. Help and the platform’s concept. The team of experts involved in the project includes scientific consultant Dr. Victoria Gorbunova, Ph.D. in psychological sciences, associate professor Dr. Tetyana Shyriaieva, Ph.D. in psychological sciences, associate professor Dr. Olga Savichenko, child psychologist Svitlana Roiz, and partners from the Public Organization “EMDR Association in Ukraine – a professional association in specialized trauma therapy.”
Victoria Gorbunova, the scientific consultant of the project, explains:
“War, loss of homes, contacts with friends, and face-to-face communication, living in conditions of air alarms and shelling, longing for loved ones who are in the military or simply far away, uncertainty, and a whole range of other challenges and limitations affect our children. It also affects us. Here lies the greatest secret of children’s mental health – to help a child, an adult must first take care of themselves. Just like a driver who hasn’t slept for a day cannot safely steer a car, an exhausted teacher won’t have the strength to support children. Therefore, this space was created with the thought of teachers, about the adult who is alongside children and must take care of themselves to take care of others.”
The team conducts sociological surveys to work on the platform and create new training programs. In March-April 2023, “Smart Osvita” organized a study on mental health in the educational environment, with more than 1,000 teachers from across the country participating. The results showed that nearly 62% of the surveyed teachers have a depressed mood and lose interest in daily activities. Sometimes, this is accompanied by insomnia, irritability, and anxiety. This survey, along with numerous feedback from training sessions on psychological Resilience held during the year, demonstrates the need to support the mental health of educators and provide them with tools and techniques to work with children for psychological Resilience. Hence, in addition to a range of training programs, the team is working on resources, including self-care tools and tools to support others and blogs on psychological topics, and allowing everyone to find answers to urgent questions about their psychological well-being, especially during times of War.
About the NGO “Smart Osvita”:
“Smart Osvita” is a non-profit educational public organization registered in July 2016. It is engaged in developing and improving the school education system in Ukraine, particularly the “New Ukrainian School” reform. Over the past six years, the organization has implemented dozens of major educational projects, including offline and online professional development courses for teachers, methodological recommendations, and various activities for children in Ukraine and abroad. It also assisted in implementing distance education in schools.
The organization also launched one of the largest educational media in the country – the NUSh website.
Since the start of the full-scale War, “Smart Osvita” has been helping Ukrainian students, parents, and teachers remain active participants in the educational process. Together with partners, they implement learning and psychological support projects for Ukrainian children and educators.
Over 1014 teachers have received certificates in various self-help and child support training programs ” Smart Osvita offers.” Additionally, the organization trained 25 certified trainers in programs aimed at improving the qualifications of educational workers in the field of psychosocial support for children and adolescents’ mental health, who now teach teachers about psychological Resilience.
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