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Today, specialists of the Lisova Poliana Center for mental health and rehabilitation of veterans of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine presented a unique model of mental health recovery "Check Point" for survivors of traumatic events. The event was held as part of the initiative of first lady Olena Zelenska to create a national program of mental health and psychosocial support. 

The presentation was attended by representatives of the first lady's office, Minister of Health Viktor Liashko and director of the USAID Mission in Ukraine James Hope, defenders of Ukraine, representatives of international organizations, civil society, socially responsible business.  

“russia's full-scale military invasion of our state has set new complex challenges for the healthcare sector of Ukraine. However, after almost 11 months, we confidently claim that we are holding on and we are unwavering. But no one knows exactly when the war will end and how long to hold on. We know for sure that it is in our power to build a mental health support system that will already allow everyone who defended Ukraine on the battlefield, who was under occupation, or who suffered the devastating impact of war to receive comprehensive assistance. This is the goal of the first lady's initiative to create a national mental health program,” Viktor Liashko said. 

USAID remains committed to its strategy of supporting Ukrainians in obtaining essential mental health services. During the event, James Hope witnessed the important role of the Lisova Poliana Center for mental health and rehabilitation of veterans and announced support from USAID in creating a new mental health resource center on the basis of the institution. The creation of the resource center is part of the assistance to which USAID has allocated almost USD 36 million since the beginning of the war to expand access to mental health services and support the initiative of the first lady of Ukraine to create a national mental health and psychosocial support program.

After the full-scale invasion by russia, the need for professional mental health care in Ukraine has increased significantly. The creation of a resource center with the support of the USAID project "Building a sustainable public health system" will help to scale the experience of Lisova Poliana and train specialists who will work both in medical institutions and in communities, providing mental health recovery services for victims of traumatic events. The service model introduced by Lisova Poliana has already proven its effectiveness. Therefore, from now on, specialists trained under the program will be able to apply this model to work in communities throughout Ukraine, working with veterans, their families, and those who were affected by the war.

The presented model is multi-modal. It involves the use of a large number of different approaches, methods, principles of treatment, and rehabilitation to achieve the best effect of restoring mental health. It is based on the approach to human health as a system influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors. Therefore, assistance should also take into account each of these factors.

Ksenia Voznitsyna, director of the Lisova Poliana Center for mental health and rehabilitation of veterans said: “The model is based on many years of successful experience of our team working with war injuries among veterans. It accumulates not only our own but also the best world practices. The model has the working name “Check Point” or “Control point”. That's what one of the patients called us after treatment. He said that he literally “rebooted” here. And this is really a control point for taking care of your mental health: restoring lost meanings, gaining new skills and knowledge, transforming traumatic experiences into post-traumatic growth.”

According to Ksenia Voznitsyna, given the scale of the war, our country needs to create a number of rehabilitation centers, and the presented model will make the work of such centers as efficient as possible. 

The Lisova Poliana Center is supported by the USAID project “Building a sustainable public health system in Ukraine”, which is implemented by the Covenant organization. 

For reference: Lisova Poliana Center is a state institution of the Ministry of Health, which is the first medical center in Ukraine specializing in the treatment of psychotrauma and the consequences of traumatic brain injuries, as well as assistance to survivors of captivity and torture. The team has been working with war injuries since 2014 and has extensive practical experience in providing services, training specialists, and developing a network of assistance for these categories of people. The center accumulates Ukrainian and international experience, provides training and advanced training of specialists, which is implemented through the work of the training platform.