Lviv has become a city where thousands of people gather in search of peace. Many of them need not only hot food or warm clothes, but above all sincere conversation, consolation and support. The Shevchenko administration is one of the places where a special point has been set up where IDPs can apply. Here they are registered, provided with food, clothing and basic necessities. It is important that in addition to material things, the administration employs psychologists who can immediately provide moral assistance.
Liliana Zub is a graduate of the Institute of Jurisprudence, Psychology and Innovative Education. In fact, as a psychologist, she helps refugees. The girl says that during her work she managed to communicate with many people and see with her own eyes what horror they had to go through while fleeing their homes.
«I am a volunteer psychologist in the district administration. I have certain days and hours of my duty, there are several such psychologists for each administration and we work in shifts. Obviously, the need for psychologists is great now, because people had to go through terrible things before they got to Lviv. Someone spent a week hiding with a small child in the Kharkiv metro, someone, upon arrival in Lviv, learned that he had lost his home, there are families who did not fit in one train and now mothers are looking for their children. Therefore, the task of all psychologists is, at least at the initial level, to stabilize a person, provide her with the first psychological aid, express support, show that in her situation she is not alone, and we understand her grief», says Liliana.
Today it is possible to trace, with what inquiries people most often address. Liliana notes that psychologists are trying to reduce fear, panic and anxiety.
«Mostly people feel: increased anxiety, panic and strong emotional tension. We are not «working» on these issues now, because people are not ready to go through these terrible events again, but we are teaching them to «ground» and reduce anxiety so that people can continue to use it without the help of a psychologist. Here I mean such practices as breathing, focusing on certain subjects, etc. Of course, there are a lot of IDPs who need not so much the help of a psychologist, but just a person to listen, with whom they can talk and express all their pain», said the Polytechnic graduate.
