Olena’s story: how a psychologist helps children in war with knowledge gained from EU4Youth

When Kyiv shudders again from sirens and children in the classroom freeze in tension, clinical psychologist Olena Kramarenko already knows what to do. Without unnecessary words, she gently brings them back to a sense of control and trust in the world, with a deep inner peace.

Her professional career began in challenging circumstances: her studies at the Faculty of Special and Inclusive Education at the Ukrainian State University named after Mykhaylo Dragomanov took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and were then disrupted by a full-scale war. And although these circumstances were a great challenge, they also hardened her as a professional.

“These events have shaped the most important skill in me – to react quickly, be clear, and act to the point. There is no time for doubt in a crisis situation,” Olena recalls.

She is convinced that a psychologist has to learn all the time. Especially now, when every Ukrainian needs psychological support to some extent. That’s why she decided to join the ‘EU4Youth – Post-conflict Education and Trauma-Informed Pedagogy Programme’, implemented by her alma mater in partnership with Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania) with the support of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the EU.

Learning that turns knowledge into action

Studying under the EU4Youth Programme has become not only an academic experience for Olena, but also a source of real tools for working with traumatised children and adults.

The programme covered topics that were previously underdeveloped in the Ukrainian educational field, such as neurobiology of trauma, body-focused therapy and somatic approach, emergency psychological assistance in extreme situations, mental disorders in crises, and more.

“I felt that I was gaining knowledge that could be applied not ‘someday’ but literally tomorrow. The topic of emergency psychological assistance was practically the most significant for me. This is the basis of my daily work now,” says Olena.

Psychology under fire

Today, Olena works with children in a state educational institution in Kyiv, runs a private practice, and has also participated in a project to provide crisis assistance to families affected by the war. The work is daily and challenging: children live in a state of chronic stress, reacting to the sound of a siren, a rumble outside the window, and unfamiliar faces. They may seem calm, but inside they are struggling.

“We have no right to lose our mental strength in such conditions. Especially in children who do not yet know how to talk about their pain in words,” Olena is convinced.

She says that she often uses the techniques she learned during the EU4Youth Programme: stabilisation techniques, tools to overcome fears, phobias, panic, developing short-term plans for adolescents, learning to trust an adult, and working with low self-esteem.

“A child can be silent, but scream at the same time – with their body, drawing, gestures. And you have to hear it,” says Olena.

 Where they learn to trust again: how a psychologist saves children’s hearts

This is the story of a girl who moved from the occupied territory with her mother after three years under shelling. Liza (not her real name) hardly spoke at all. She avoided eye contact. She clenched her hands tensely and sat silently in the corner. At the moment of intimacy, aggression appeared, which was a defensive reaction. It was as if she were building a wall around herself so that no one could touch her pain.

Another invisible but powerful emotion is guilt because of her father, who stayed at home. Liza did not talk about it. But it lived in her tension, in her alienation.

“We worked with her gradually. I used techniques that I learnt through the EU4Youth Programme: psychoeducation, art therapy, stabilisation exercises, and safe dialogue techniques. And most importantly, I gave her a space for silence in which she could start talking again,” Olena recalls.

Each child is a separate story, a separate wound, and a separate support strategy. The main thing is not to rush, but to give time and the right tools.

The superpower of support

“Emergency psychological help is not an option. It is a part of our reality. It’s like a first aid kit for the soul,” says Olena.

In conditions of constant danger, where every day someone loses their family or home, or just a good night’s sleep, professional help can be what saves a child from deep trauma for life.

“The goal is not to return everything to the way it was. The goal is to teach the child to play, dream, trust, and build a future again. And at the same time, to give adults the resources to be there for them and not to break down,” Olena concludes.

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