Modern psychological assistance technologies for internally displaced persons

Abstract

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, many Ukrainians have fled their homes in search of safer places, thus the problem of developing convenient and effective methods of providing psychological support to the maximum number of citizens has become urgent. The research aims to develop a technology for helping internally displaced persons based on exposure therapy methods. The study sample consisted of 84 respondents who had the official status of internally displaced persons. To quantify the parameters of the stressful state, the PCL-5 post-traumatic stress disorder diagnostic tool was used, and the updated Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI) was used to determine the emotional state. At the beginning of the study, 67% of respondents in the sample had a level of symptoms sufficient to diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder, which indicates a high level of psychological distress. The methods of trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing were used for psychotherapeutic procedures. The use of both methods proved to be effective in improving the overall psychological state of the respondents. The use of trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy led to a 9.0% reduction in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and a 37.73% increase in happiness compared to the control group. The method of desensitisation and eye movement processing led to a 15.41% reduction in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and a 35.30% increase in subjective indicators of happiness compared to the control group. The combined use of both methods showed the best results: after three months, there was a 19.72% reduction in post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and a 42.54% increase in happiness scores compared to the control group. Based on the data demonstrated in this paper, the combined use of traumafocused cognitive behavioural therapy and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing can be recommended to reduce the severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms and improve the well-being of internally displaced persons.