After the war, an army of one million will require psychological support, - Maliar
According to Ukrinform, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar made this statement during a roundtable discussion on the topic: "War against our souls: How to preserve the mental health of servicemen and society as a whole."
"In terms of the military, we have faced several serious challenges: first, the number - hundreds of thousands of mobilized individuals. Prior to the start of the major invasion, according to the law, we had 215,000 military personnel and others - civilian workers. This number has increased several times, and therefore, if we talk about the number of people who potentially need psychological support, you understand the magnitude - nearly a million-strong army. Another important point is that psychological support is provided only voluntarily. And it is important to understand that a person may need it, but they have the right not to turn to anyone. So we are faced with the challenge of stereotypes because the vast majority of military personnel are still men, and the stereotype is: if I am strong, why do I seek help? And our task is to explain that seeking help from a psychologist is normal," emphasized Maliar.
She believes that the Armed Forces are part of society, which also requires psychological support, but working with military personnel has its own specificity.
According to the Deputy Minister, another major challenge is the shortage of psychologists. There is a shortage now, and there will be a physical shortage in the coming years, especially concerning military psychologists.
"We have had different experiences, and we have understood that civilian psychologists face difficulties. Secondly, there is a specificity in terms of security, and therefore, we currently work with military psychologists in the Armed Forces. We have a shortage of personnel, and we have taken certain steps to address this shortage," Maliar explained.
At the same time, she believes that Ukraine has the chance to become a global leader in the psychological rehabilitation of military personnel: "On the one hand, we face challenges, but on the other hand, this is a huge opportunity to become leaders and key experts in the world in working with society and the military, in dealing with the consequences of a full-scale invasion."
Oksana Zbitneva, Head of the Coordinating Center for Mental Health at the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, noted that work in this field directly affects the mental health of the nation, which in turn has an impact on the country's economic indicators.
"The All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program, initiated by the First Lady Olena Zelenska, is being created now, not waiting for victory, in order to respond not only to what is happening with us today but also to the predictions that we understand will occur after the victory," she emphasized.
Zbitneva stressed that all citizens must unite in the effort to restore individuals.
She noted that there is an interdepartmental coordination council at the level of the Cabinet of Ministers, which serves as a platform for decision-making. During the council's last meeting, Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov presented a five-step project for restoring mental health in the Armed Forces.
If the system is not built in a timely manner, according to Zbitneva, the state will not be able to cope with the influx of people returning to civilian life who have unique combat experiences and have experienced traumatic events and who should be supported by military psychologists.
