How to Support a Person in Crisis: EAST SOS Team Learns Stabilization Techniques for People Affected by War
Thirty-four specialists of the EAST SOS Charity Foundation completed the training “The nature of crisis states: physiology of crisis and stabilization techniques.
”The training was attended by specialists from the social support and evacuation teams, as well as the human rights protection team. After evacuation, russian shelling, or other war-related traumatic experiences, people often have to immediately solve urgent issues such as finding a place to stay, restoring or obtaining documents, or accessing social payments. At the same time, they may feel confused, experience acute stress reactions, or struggle with anxiety.
Knowledge about crisis states helps specialists of the EAST SOS Charity Foundation take into account a person’s emotional condition, communicate sensitively, and combine psychological first aid with social, legal, or evacuation support.
During the training, participants learned how the human nervous system responds to acute stress and how reactions to crisis situations may manifest. The practical part focused on stabilization and self-help techniques that can be applied without specialized psychological education. In particular, the team practiced the “Four Elements” and “ACE” techniques, as well as the “MAACE” crisis support algorithm.
“After the training, I started to understand better how to notice crisis reactions and build communication during the first interaction with people affected by war. Sometimes a person first needs help to stabilize before we can move on to issues related to documents, payments, or other types of assistance. Now I possess specific techniques that I can apply in such situations and after that, move on to helping the person with their main request,” said Bohdan Hryhorenko, Social Support Specialist at the EAST SOS Charity Foundation.
Recognizing a person’s emotional state behind their immediate request and knowing how to provide appropriate support in different situations is an important part of quality assistance. To strengthen these skills, EAST SOS has an internal team learning system: specialists regularly deepen their knowledge and develop practical tools in response to the challenges they encounter in their work.
🤝 The training was conducted with financial support from the Ukraine Solidarity Programme of Fondation de France.
EAST SOS provided rehabilitation assistive devices to evacuees at transit centers.
