Reflections of a Trauma Therapist in the Ukrainian War

By Elaine Miller-Karas for Psychology Today

It has been nine months since the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI) began its Ukrainian Humanitarian Resiliency Project, responding weekly to civilians impacted by the war in Ukraine. In the first days, we provided support meetings daily, then moved to three times per week, and now we meet one day per week. Volunteer trauma therapists and Community Resiliency Model Teachers from various backgrounds from different parts of the world have joined TRI staff. We started as strangers wanting to help, and now we have created a community of beloved friends and colleagues. Our common humanity has inspired us.

We have witnessed Ukrainian courage, optimism, despair, and hope. We have cried and laughed together. We continue to respond to the scores of questions posed by Ukrainian teachers, parents, and community members. Ideas have been shared from a wide variety of perspectives.

It is an unusual experience zooming into a space where people you care about are faced daily with losing their life or being physically and sexually violated because of war; when we click “Leave Meeting” we are back in our safe community in the U.S.

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