On May 13, 2025, the Mental Health Center of the state institution "South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushynsky" hosted a training session "Psychological First Aid", which was aimed at developing self-help skills and supporting other people in stressful situations.
The trainers of the class (Assoc. Prof. Iryna BRYNZA, Prof. Nataliia CHERNENKO) introduced the participants to typical reactions to stress, practiced the exercises "Safe Place", "My Daily Stress", "Self-Care", "First Aid Kit of Resources", "Grounding", etc. Special attention was paid to the development of self-regulation skills and recognition of stress symptoms. At the beginning of the training, the exercise "River of Expectations" was conducted, to which they returned at the end to assess the achieved results. The participants noted that their expectations were justified and expressed gratitude for the meaningful and practically oriented training. The training was attended by students of Ushynsky University, namely: students of the Educational and Scientific Institute of Physical Culture, Sports and Special Education.
The event was held with the support of the French non-governmental organization ACTED (Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development), which provides humanitarian assistance and promotes sustainable development in over 40 countries around the world. ACTED has been working in Ukraine since 2015, supporting vulnerable groups of the population, in particular internally displaced persons and victims of the conflict.