Psychological support center for Ukrainian refugees in Iceland

In the course of drawing, children talk about themselves, families, worries, dreams, the superpower they dream of, and so on. After the end of the process, they explain all the details of the drawing. Over and over again, children open up more and more: they talk about tyranny from their parents or losses, fears and dreams. Friendship and trust between kids and psychologist deepen. Permission to take toys is an additional investment in trust, as well as an opportunity for children to satisfy the need to fill the loss. Having lost their home and family, their entire former world, they need to easily get at least something. For children, these toys are acceptance and attention to them as they are.

Adults spent time in the Filadelfía or went to the welfare office , leaving the children in the Center. Communication with adults took place in the common hall, or individually, in a separate room (optional ).

During the conversation given an explanation of the reasons for the change in the behavior of children, as well as a story about how to recognize depression, how to cope with apathy, and so on. It was a kind of group sessions, spontaneous and without too much formalism. Group therapy for adults is as invisible to the participants as group drawing for children. They are unaware that they are in therapy, which makes it possible to overcome possible prejudices or inhibitions towards the therapist. Individual conversations took place at the invitation, or at the request of the person. Often, these were not therapeutic sessions, but psychological support in order to help people fulfill their primary needs for understanding and acceptance, to feel significant, to think about certain experiences, to cry or be silent.

The fact that parents and children of all ages were in the same space gave access to information about their relationship. In some cases, violence against children or abusive relationships were revealed, non-constructive behavior patterns were manifested, practiced by both adults and children.

A natural play environment was created, without the introduction of compulsory lessons and classes, in which children could regain the feeling of childhood, pampering, playing, dreaming and could temporarily forget about the war. The purpose of all the actions taken was to preserve their childhood. A large number of observations were made of children, their behaviour and games.

The projective drawing technique provided rich material as an opportunity to identify those features of the character of children that can either promote or hinder integration into a new society for them.

As already been mentioned, refugees experience a lot of difficult situations, suffer from insomnia, depression. Conducting conversations with children and adults took place in tandem with a clinical psychologist, so as not to rely only on psychotherapy and not to miss the organic problems of our wards. In the process, a primary history was collected, and when it came to antidepressants or sleeping pills, a request for help was sent to a psychiatrist. Those people who kept on adrenaline and experienced an good mood, as expected, began to come after two weeks with complaints of apathy, depression, crying and in need of drugs. They came again, or were always in touch, in order to find the support that the Center had become for them. It encouraged initiative, social activity, volunteering, learning the language and everything that gives the wards a sense of control over life.

As people found an accommodation and job, visitors to Filadelfia began to talk about their experiences of employment and renting apartments, share things, look after each other's children, bringing them in the morning or taking them back. Mothers and children, whose relationships have deteriorated, have become frequent visitors to the Center, as well as teenagers who have already arrived in Iceland with drug addiction. This group of young people became the object of attention of drug dealers. The task of the Center in such cases is to help those who want to get rid of addiction, for which, among other things, a psychiatrist was involved. And also to warn those who may become victims of drug dealers and pimps.

Separate meetings were held with some teenagers in order to explain what to do if they become victims of blackmail due to rash acts at parties. This is an important point to keep in mind as all asylum seekers experience a drop in self-esteem in particular. If adults "manage" it, by breaking down on children, then teenagers tend to grow up ahead of time, not always by constructively. In addition, a request was sent to the local police in order to find out the procedure for the required actions if information was received about a threat to the life or health of the wards. Also, conditions and an opportunity were created for the wards (anonymously) to seek help in case of sexual harassment.

As refugees adapt (mostly middle-class people who had everything at home: family, work, social circle), their self-esteem grows and relationships with their children smooth out. However, problems with self-esteem and the ensuing consequences lie in wait for adults and kids as they enter unskilled work and enter school.

This period of self-building needs the right psychological support in order to avoid depression, nervous breakdowns and alcohol dependence in adults, and depression in children. In addition, families are breaking up, not even because of living at a distance, but because women who experience suppression and psychological abuse at home feel their strength and self-sufficiency as they overcome the ordeals far from home. Some regard the disaster that has happened in their life not only as a loss of everything, but also as an opportunity to turn fate in a better direction, give themselves a chance to study or change their profession.

As new people arrived, Filadelfia's schedule was not enough to provide quality psychological support to everyone in need. We have decided to expand the opening hours in order to be able to receive people in other places. As a result, people began to come to us after work. Receptions take place on Mondays and Thursdays from 18:00 to 20:00 in Neskirkja church, and on Tuesdays at community center at Aflagrandi 40. The center also provides online help for people outside Reykjavik: Akureyri, Bifröst, Hveragerði, Selfoss, Vík.

Soon, representatives of the Reykjavikurborg turned to us in order to organize cooperation in the adaptation of Ukrainian adolescents and children who go to schools and kindergartens. Some children experience stress while experiencing forced migration to another country, being in a different society that is unusual for them, learning a new language and getting used to a new way of life. As a result, we have already made a visit to the Fellaskóli school to analyze the problems that a 12-year-old boy had, who, during the classes, began to hide under the desk, and sometimes in the wardrobe. The meeting was attended by the boy's parents, the director of the school, his teacher and class supervisor, as well as a representative of the mayor's office. The process of making further visits to schools, if the situation requires so, was also agreed. In the process of communication with the boy, the reasons for his behaviour described above became clear, and steps were taken to further prevent incidents that may happen. Preventive work was carried out on the behaviour rules at school and a conversation with the parent took place.

During more intensive work, the problems that were or appeared by Ukrainian refugees in Iceland were revealed. Children and adolescents experience a drop of self-esteem and, as a result, a change in attitude towards themselves, their lives, and the world in general. Other problems among adolescents include generalized anxiety, various types of addictions, depressive episodes (accompanied by thoughts of suicide), self-mutilation, military flashbacks, and sexual dissociation. In such cases, in addition to therapy, we carry out counseling work on issues of sexual maturation and sexuality among teenagers, and before the school period, a general meeting was held with children and their parents on the topic of bullying in schools, how to avoid and what to do if this happens.

Adults also experience a drop in self-esteem, emotional decline, and a general stress disorder. In addition, we are faced with problems of parent-child relationships, family and interpersonal relationships, social death and loss of context, depression and alcohol addiction, sexual problems, fetishes and issues of gender identity, age-related crises, psychological trauma, phobias, antisocial behaviour. Our wards are provided with full psychological support, individually in each single case.

In the process of organizing and conducting psychological support, a need arose for individual empirical research. To do this, for each case where such a need arises, appropriate methods are selected. If the required technique is not available in the native language of the ward, it is translated, while maintaining the quality, reliability and validity of the test. These studies are carried out together with therapy, individually, without the collection of personal data.

Talking about the work of the Psychological Care Center, it is worth mentioning our personal professional growth. In addition to the invaluable experience we gain by helping asylum seekers from Ukraine, we continue our own education. To improve our qualifications, we sign up for lectures and webinars on psychological support, assistance to victims of violence, assistance and support to victims of war. There is an exchange of experience with specialists from other countries. We organize online meetings with therapists, narcologists, psychologists and arrange lectures, consultations, cooperation, and webinars on relevant topics.

We also help create and shape a positive image of Iceland in our work to help refugees. This happens through various interviews for national television, as well as for foreign broadcasters that visit Iceland to cover stories regarding support to refugees from Ukraine.

Many of it became possible thanks to a grant that our center received from the Icelandic Mental Health Association (Geðhjalp) in October 2022. Olga Khodos applied for this grant on her own name and has been granted personally. With its help, the covered audience of people was expanded, our recognition among target audience was increased, which increased the number of our wards. Also, recognition appeared and the trust of official authorities increased in us, which made it possible to cooperate with the common goal of helping Ukrainians, and increasing the efficiency of our work.

The project relieves strain on the Icelandic medical system. We work to prevent suicide and self-harm in both adolescents and adults, in critical temporally-limited situations. We also help in exercising the right to receive urgently qualified psychological assistance, regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, skin color, gender, faith or other differences. The work of the Center eliminates discrimination on any grounds, and our wards receive psychological support absolutely free of charge.

Our audience also includes groups at increased risk of suicide among the population: non-binary individuals, pansexuals, homosexuals, bisexuals and others. The innovative approach we use is unique and unparalleled in the world. It helps to take a comprehensive look at a particular situation, and improve the quality and efficiency of work, reducing the time to analyze certain life aspects and problems of our wards. The principle of the approach is that in an individual conversation there is not one, but two specialists in different psychological fields who work in pair, considering situations at the same time, but from different angles. This helps to expand the range of knowledge and methods used directly in individual meetings, which brings more clarity and reduces the likelihood of psychological errors and the time spent.

The project is at the stage of development and always evolving. The center works to provide psychological support and improve the quality of life of our wards in Iceland. For this, activities have been organized, which are run by both Icelandic and Ukrainian volunteers. Among them there is an Icelandic language class, pilates, neurographics. Among the development plans of the center are: strengthening cooperation between the Center and the educational system of Iceland; strengthening cooperation with the Icelandic medical system; conducting educational lectures on the topic of recognizing depression, the harm of drugs, sexual maturation, and others; strengthening international cooperation with similar Centers; establishing links with workers in the psychological sphere abroad; consultations on the creation of a family center or a psychological support center in other countries.