Elaine Miller-Karas' Blog on Psychology Today
Elaine Miller-Karas writes a blog for Psychology Today, “Providing Support to Ukraine During War with Telemental Health: Using the Community Resiliency Model to reduce toxic stress”. Ms. Miller-Karas has been invited to be a regular blogger on their online platform. A snippet from that article is below.
Providing Support to Ukraine During War with Telemental Health: Using the Community Resiliency Model to Reduce Toxic Stress
“TRI’s response is a paradigm shift – the notion we don’t have to wait until after the war or displacement to provide mental health support. Could we mitigate the impact of the mental health challenges faced in the present time, and could our efforts reduce the incidence of post-traumatic stress injuries?
“We don’t know the absolute answers to these questions. Still, from the anecdotal information and many views of our support meetings on EdCamp Ukraine’s Facebook, people listen, and our support provides comfort and even hope.
“Through the pandemic, we had all learned to scale our reach through digital platforms like Zoom and WebEx. Within twenty-four hours of the start of the war, we created an online webinar series to teach the six wellness skills of the Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® to the EdCamp educators and a broader community in Ukraine.
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“We have fielded difficult and heart-wrenching questions. Examples include questions about losing faith; fears of dying and taking one’s own life rather than being captured; problems with sleeping; worries about children’s behaviors and fears; post-traumatic images of sounds that will not leave their mind; anxiety; hopelessness; fears of being tortured and raped; supporting children who have been raped; overuse of social media and images of war by teenagers; disheartened by Russian relatives who believe Russian propaganda; fears of pregnant women; challenges with children and adults with disabilities. Some questions are about the future and how to rebuild Ukraine, and supporting the mental health needs of returning soldiers and civilians.”