Olha Kovalova, dean of the faculty of training specialists for pre-trial investigation units, took part in the meeting dedicated to psychologists’ training. It was attended by the heads of higher education institutions, relevant specialists in this area and the deputy head of the regional military administration Kateryna Koltunova.
The meeting was devoted to the mechanisms of introducing the mental health system in the Kirovohrad region, in accordance with the All-Ukrainian mental health program initiated by the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska.
The participants considered the issue of providing the institutions of social services in the Kirovohrad region with psychologists; the state of providing health care institutions of the Kirovohrad region with specialists of the psychological service; the availability of vacancies for psychologists and the need of the region for psychological service specialists. Those present discussed the possibilities of training these specialists using vouchers.
Special attention was paid to the development of mechanisms of interaction between institutions of higher education that train psychologists, employers and relevant specialists in this area in staffing the region with psychological service specialists.
Kateryna Koltunova emphasized the need of training highly qualified specialists who would acquire the necessary competencies and were ready to work on restoring the psychosomatic and psychosocial health of the population of Ukraine, in particular, with the most vulnerable categories of the population, such as, children, participants in hostilities, temporarily displaced persons, the released from captivity, persons who have experienced different types of violence. All this actualizes the issue of not only improving professional training of future psychologists, but also of increasing the level of efficiency of the psychological support of the staffers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, who serve right in extreme and crisis conditions.
In her report, Olga Kovalova noted that, considering today’s challenges as to the maintenance and restoration of the mental health of the Ukrainians in war and post-war times, the DonSUIA developed an educational program of the first (bachelor’s higher education level) 053 “Psychology” (Legal Psychology), according to which future psychologists are currently being trained.
The priority in training specialists at the Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs is the acquisition of thorough theoretical knowledge and high-quality practical training. That is why much attention is paid to the practical component of the educational process. This as well as establishing practice bases at which future psychologists will be able to work with persons who need psychological assistance, involving practicing psychologists, conducting trainings, etc. is also focused on.
The department of extreme and crisis psychology (on a voluntary basis) operates in the DonSUIA. The activity of the department is implemented through the participation of its members in providing psychological support to the participants of the educational process, solving practical tasks of extreme and crisis assistance to specialists of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Armed Forces, providing assistance to the affected population regarding restoring their mental abilities that were lost as a result of their experiencing extreme events.
The participants of the meeting admitted active work of the Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs in the area of preserving and strengthening the mental health of the nation – an issue that gained special importance with the beginning of a large-scale war in Ukraine, as well as a clear action program for effective adaptation to peaceful post-war life.
The meeting resulted in the development of a number of provisions regarding further improvement of future psychologist’s training at higher education institutions.
