Socio-psychological support of post-traumatic personal transformations

Abstract

It is developed an original conceptual model for the socio-psychological support of war victims.

Support is defined as a specially organized activity that provides psychological health recovery and constructive personal transformations.

The interrelation of the horizontal model components of social-psychological support is considered: 1) the recipient, that is, the consumer; 2) the agent, that is, the specialist, the group, the community; 3) the life situation that promotes or impedes interaction of the recipient and the agent.

It is built the dynamic, vertical model of support due to the following components: diagnostic-target, operational-instrumental, community-communicative, and evaluation-correction.

The functions of the components were determined: diagnostic-target one (assessment of the nature of the trauma, the state of the recipient’s psychological health, recovery resources); operational-instrumental one (approbation of tools, methods, strategies of support); community-communicative one (involvement of real and virtual networks, self-help groups); evaluative-corrective one (monitoring the support’s effectiveness, adjusting of the procedure, making changes to the organization process).

The support tools were clarified: 1) communicative practices to improve the interaction between the agent and the recipient; 2) multidisciplinary means to ensure the readiness of communities to provide support, to attract the recipient to community life; 3) facilitation of self- and mutual assistance.

The efficacy of support strategies is analyzed: the reinterpretation of life trials, testing of new interaction practices, alienation overcoming, development of tolerance to uncertainty.

Performance indicators for the support are certified: 1) forming of psychological readiness for constructive interaction, 2) measure of satisfaction with the support quality, 3) improvement of psychological well-being of the recipient, 4) professional training of support agents, and burnout prevention 5) increasing of support’s popularity; 6) work coordination of the multidisciplinary teams, 7) the community’s possibility to provide accompanying interaction after the completion of the program developed by specialists.