Kherson State University

On the first day of the internship, the participants met the Vice President of the IPU, Professor Birgit Stürmer, who set the psychotherapeutic tone by reflecting on the historical intersections of mental health support during the war. After that, the head of the research department Yuriy Nesterko introduced the work of ZENTRUN UBERLEBEN (Survival Center), which supports the rehabilitation and integration of refugees and migrants. The work of the Center is accompanied by scientific research and development of approaches to diagnosis, as well as documentation of the causes, consequences and treatment of injuries. The head of the international department of the IPU, Carmen Shir, introduced her own work experience within the framework of the project "Social trauma in changing societies" (2012-2024). Professor Andreas Hamburger and colleagues shared the results of many years of research on social trauma and the ways of its diagnosis and psychotherapy.
On the second day of training, our colleagues visited the Free University of Berlin - one of the largest, which is part of the association of German universities. Director, Dr. Stefan Petri and psychotherapist Brigitte Reisen-Costudis revealed the functioning and important aspects of the counseling work of the University's Psychological Support Service. Carefully considered the structure of activity, got acquainted with statistics. Professor Phil Langer presented his own work on the topic: "Shared storytelling as a method of participation in trauma-sensitive work with vulnerable groups."Work with trauma is a coordinated process and result that involves a set of measures aimed at preventing the development of post-traumatic stress disorders, restoring the functioning of a person who suffered from a traumatic event, and developing his stress resistance.
The third day of internship of the BURN (Erasmus+) project performers began with an introduction to the work of the Psychotherapeutic Clinic of the International Psychoanalytic University (IPU). The clinic accepts about 1,000 patients a year and has an inpatient department. In addition to psychological help and psychotherapeutic intervention, PC employees pay special attention to scientific research. Then we continued to get acquainted with the infrastructure of the IPU, visited the library, which is considered the largest in terms of the number of sources of the psychoanalytic direction. There was also a cultural program where the German Philharmonic - Lanchkonzert - was visited. The trip and acquaintance with the Sigmund Freud University in Berlin was exciting. Professor David Bekker introduced his many years of experience in working with traumatic processes and considerations about the need for each university to build a staff support model. We considered the problem of resilience in modern dimensions and outlined ways to strengthen it. The day, rich in impressions and educational technologies, ended with a Social Dinner at "Dieselhaus".
On the fourth day of the internship, our colleagues studied the work of the Support Service (crisis counseling hotline - Krisenchat https://krisenchat.de/uk/ueber-uns). (https://krisenchat.de/uk/ueber-uns) Head of Service Melanie Eckert presented the main aspects of the work.In the work of the JV, the desire to help every young person who got into a crisis situation, to provide professional psychological support, was monitored. Together with the employees of Krisenchat, they outlined the contours of cooperation in the near future.
The next event attended by the project executors was a presentation and practical recommendations for the creation and functioning of Support Centers by the head of the international office of the IPU, Carmen Scheer. The proposed algorithm makes it possible to look optimistically at the prospect of creating such a structural unit in the Higher Education and Training Center of Ukraine.
On the final fifth day of the educational visit, together with the project organizers - professors Lars Kuchinke and Phil Langer, they summed up the results, analyzed expectations and real achievements, outlined the dates of the next educational activities. A rating of preferences of key project activities was formed. Emphasis was placed on EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) – desensitization and reprocessing (trauma processing) through eye movement. In the second part of the working day, Professor Lutz Wittmann (IPU) shared his own experience and offered supervisory cases in the context of "Trauma and psychoanalytic trauma interventions". He revealed the secrets of his own experience of professional growth, the peculiarities of using a combination of psychotherapeutic approaches.
At the final stage of the educational visit, the performers of the Burn (Erasmus +) project of the Department of Psychology of KhSU: Ihor Popovych, Nataliya Tavrovetska and Valentina Kalenchuk received training certificates and provided feedback to the organizers