Crisis Care: Ukrainian Police Psychologists at Bombing Sites

Kids’ toys, a thermos for tea, blankets, stress balls, mobile telephone power banks, and other objects come out of the “psychologist’s valise,” as Yulia Yu calls it.

Yu, a Police psychologist for 28 years with the rank of lieutenant colonel, explains to Kyiv Post how the objects are used by herself and other police psychologists at the scenes of Russian attacks on their city of Kharkiv.

“It’s important to provide an intervention that helps the person in crisis detach from the stress and shock that they are experiencing,” the impeccably dressed and groomed experienced specialist policewoman explains. “We all have resilience within us, but sometimes we need some support to unlock it when it’s most needed.”

Yu is one of Kharkiv’s 20 police psychologists. In terms of bomb scenes, team members work in shifts of two, and sometimes more, to deal with people who have been impacted. They wear Kevlar helmets, body armor and fluorescent vests that clearly identify them as psychologists and are a key part of the crisis response together with fire and rescue workers, operational police, medical teams and others.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion and the constant artillery, drone and missile attacks on Kharkiv’s residents since 2022, the psychologists have been to many dozens of crisis situations and assisted hundreds of impacted people.

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Berezhinskaya, a theatre director, had railed against Russia’s actions in Ukraine, saying Moscow’s soldiers were killing civilians and destroying cities in a naked land grab.

“According to our protocol, a first step is to triage the scene: who needs medical assistance; who is in shock; who is in hysteria; who is showing signs of anger and aggression,” she says. “Then, while prioritizing the elderly and children, we reassure the individual we are there to help, get them to a safe space, and then use different tools to bring them out of their immediate emotional response so they become more grounded and calm.”

Those exhibiting anger or aggression are given a simple, helpful task to do at the rescue scene to direct their energy. Those in stupor are literally snapped out of it and then encouraged to focus on the bottle of water in their hands. Those having a panic attack are joined in deep breathing. Those who have lost their homes are quickly screened and directed to volunteers and appropriate services.

“On arriving at the scene, our top commander often asks ‘where are the psychologists?’ because we are integral to the necessary response,” Yu says.

The unit’s usefulness and credibility has been earned by their work behind the scenes too. Over her time in the Police, Yu has been part of the developing workplace psychological and emotional support programs for her fellow officers.

“In the beginning, it was very hard and there were many stigmas,” she says. “But as my colleagues saw the benefit to themselves and their families, more and more police now access the support when they need it.”

“The truth is we are all impacted by challenges and crises and we each respond to it in different ways, and that includes my colleagues in the Police,” Yu says.

She provides an example of a group exercise that helps police both debrief and recover from working in crisis situations.

“We call it human sculpture. One person works as the artist and the other is the material. Together, they need to depict an emotion – be it fear, sadness, anxiety, joy,” Yu says. “It’s about recognizing that emotion, giving it form, and then releasing it rather than keeping things inside, where they become toxic.”

Kyiv Post asks Yu about the impact of the full-scale war on herself and her teammates themselves.

“Well, we are professional psychologists, so we do have the training, skills and insights. But it’s important that we also debrief and make sure we don’t constantly take the images of what we’ve seen to sleep with us. Laughter and coffee help too,” Yu, who is married to a police officer, says.

“Even with all I have seen in the police, the level of death and destruction, and the huge impact on people and their families, is difficult to in any way understand. There might end up being post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in every second or third person,” Yu says.

She describes a situation where group therapy participants tried to “sculpt the idea of victory.”

“There will need to be a process of renewal,” Yu says of her country in its 32nd month of full-scale war. “We will need to learn how to again see the world through positive and optimistic eyes.”