Coping with Trauma

The Pedagogical Institute's Department of Psychology hosted the event, which is part of a program to keep psychologists abreast of the latest techniques. They were helped by the Belgorod Association of Child and Family Psychologists. The main speaker was Alexander Gershanov, a psychotherapist working at the Selah Centre, which is based in Tel Aviv. Selah was set up in 1993 to provide psychological support for Israeli immigrants fleeing traumatic situations, and thereafter expanded its remit to working with anyone struggling to cope with a traumatic event, from all walks of life.

Mr Gershanov walked his colleagues through the techniques employed by Selah when dealing with recent victims of attack, natural disaster and losing loved ones, so called 'Psychological First Aid'. He then went on to outline the psychotherapeutic and social aspects of working with trauma and loss in the long-term. Dr Dmitry Sazonov, Head of BNRU's Psychological Service, highlighted the importance of holding educational seminars in this format, saying,

“This experience is a very valuable tool in developing our national system of psychological support. Participants learned about the Israeli system of social and psychological assistance and psychological rehabilitation, and discussed the possibility of incorporating the experience gained by foreign colleagues into the Russian system.”