Emergency measures for psychological support for refugees from Ukraine

Immediate action; Ukraine; war of aggression; refugees; mental health support; trauma; grief, Baden-Wuerttemberg.

Dr. phil. Andreas Witt, graduate psychologist and child and adolescent psychotherapist (VT), head of the psychotherapy and trauma outpatient clinic at the Ulm Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy

Dr. M.Sc.-Psych. Elisa Pfeiffer, child and adolescent psychotherapist (VT), head of the day clinic and the scientific working group on trauma therapy at the Ulm Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy

Dr. M.Sc.-Psych. Cedric Sachser, child and adolescent psychotherapist (VT), leading psychologist of the child and adolescent psychiatric outpatient clinic and head of the scientific working group on trauma therapy at the Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy Ulm

August 2022 - April 2023

Due to the war of aggression in Ukraine, many people, including mothers, children and young people were forced to flee. Some of the refugees suffer from the consequences of war and flight as well as from the separation from fathers and relatives who stayed behind in the war. The considerable psychological burden of traumatic experiences on those affected is to be mitigated by a staged, indicated preventive approach.

The project comprises an emergency package of measures to support refugee mothers, children and adolescents as well as unaccompanied children. The goal is to relieve the burden on the refugees through early stabilization and psychoeducation.

Knowledge about the consequences of trauma as a normal reaction to an abnormal situation as well as targeted information about age-appropriate trauma reactions can help to better understand and support those affected. In this context, it is important primarily to provide the affected families, children and adolescents with a sense of security, to give them the opportunity to talk about and classify what they have experienced, and to find an anxiety-free, regular daily routine.

The project is funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and Integration of Baden-Württemberg and includes several components, which are briefly presented below.

1) Currently, information materials for caregivers of Ukrainian children, professionals, health care professionals, teachers and volunteers who work with refugees from Ukraine are being prepared in several languages. These address how to talk to children about war, what age-appropriate trauma and grief responses look like, and how to help children in the acute phase. You can download the materials on this page.

2) Webinars will also be offered for professionals and volunteers working with refugees. In these, information is provided about mental health support for refugees. Currently, webinars will be held on 07/11/2022, 19/12/2022, 16/01/2023, 08/02/2023, and 08/03/2023.

3) The screening tool PORTA, which offers a screening for mental health problems and traumatization, as well as the e-learning portal SHELTER with courses on trauma reactions and protection concepts will be adapted and made available.

The projects will be scientifically monitored. The webinars are evaluated through a survey of participants and continuously improved. The screening portal PORTA enables anonymous data collection for future research on the stress of refugees.

University Hospital Ulm

Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry & Psychotherapy

Steinhövelstr. 1

89075 Ulm

Project staff: Maike Garbade, Selina Gehring & Maria Hrynova

E-Mail:ukraine.kjp[at]uniklinik-ulm.de