“Don’t Be Afraid to Refer Someone to a Specialist”: Priests and Parishioners Learn the Basics of Counseling and Psychological First Aid

On June 2-3, a two-day training on “Basics of Counseling and Psychological First Aid” was held in Kyiv for clergy, priests’ wives, seminarians, and active parishioners. The training was led by psychotherapist Tetiana Rudenko, founder and director of the NGO Free Choice, a specialist in CBT, EMDR, and schema therapy, and a member of EMDR Ukraine.

The first day focused on the fundamentals of counseling, professional boundaries, recognizing mental health disorders, and preventing burnout. The second day was devoted to psychological first aid and practical approaches to communicating with people experiencing acute stress reactions, aggression, dissociation, or hysteria.

“I had never learned this before, and I’m not sure where else I could have received this kind of training. Now I understand that when a person experiences overwhelming fear, it is a matter of both safety and meaning. I also feel better prepared to recognize when depression begins to take hold,” shared one of the participants.

Particularly valuable for attendees were the practical cases shared by priests from different regions of Ukraine, as well as the understanding that helping others does not mean taking responsibility for everything yourself.

“We should not simply feel sorry for a person; we should understand their problem. We should not be afraid if someone needs to see a psychiatrist. On the contrary, we should refer them to a specialist and continue supporting them. Previously, my response would have been, ‘Everything is fine, don’t worry.’ Now I understand that this is not the right approach,” several participants independently noted.

Serhiy Dmytriyev, Board chairman of the NGO Eleos-Ukraine, emphasized that service members experiencing PTSD symptoms often choose to turn to a priest rather than a psychologist.

“They come to a priest as a last resort and expect immediate answers. That is why priests need basic knowledge: how to listen, how to assess a person’s condition, and when and to whom they should refer someone for professional help.”

He also noted: “A priest cannot always be available. He has a family, responsibilities, and his own fatigue. That is why these trainings are so important.”

The project “Clergy and Communities in Support of Mental Health: Innovative Support Practices During the War in Ukraine” is implemented by Eleos-Ukraine in partnership with DanChurchAid and Norwegian Church Aid in Ukraine, with financial support from the Government of Norway (NORAD), in cooperation with the Kyiv and Lviv Orthodox Theological Academies.