Building resilience to early life trauma in belarus and Ukraine

Abstract

Introduction: Despite high levels of early life trauma (ELT) in Belarus and Ukraine, a culturally nuanced understanding of attitudes to and experiences of ELT and mental health care has not previously been studied. Objectives: Better understanding of the ways that ELT is understood and experienced; better understanding of how organisations working to support mental health can help families in Belarus and Ukraine to build resilience to ELT. Methods: A series of three workshops on the cultural contexts of early life trauma and mental health care were undertaken in Minsk and Lviv with over 40 participants from different disciplines (doctors, psychologists, lawyers, researchers, teachers, police, NGOs, WHO and UNICEF) in 2018-2019. Results: The main reasons to attend the workshops were to increase understanding of current work undertaken on ELT; increase understanding of the relationship between culture and mental health; and as an opportunity for NGOs to communicate directly with governmental institutions. As a result of the project, participants felt more prepared to work with ELT, and were able to identify blank spots in their knowledge and structure of care. The workshops also resulted in an online network of ELT practitioners within Central and Eastern Europe (http://earlylifetrauma.info/) and increased motivation for work on policies targeting ELT. More research in the field, awareness raising and improved training to work with ELT were identified as priorities. Conclusions: Responding effectively to ELT will require a multidisciplinary approach that considers how cultural aspects influence attitudes towards mental health and psychiatric care.