Helse Bergen has taken the initiative to develop a program for Ukrainian refugees with information about possible reactions and experiences they may experience as a refugee . This program has been presented and discussed in the Pandemic Coordination Group and followed up in a series of meetings "Psychosocial support, psychiatric treatment" between Helse Bergen and the municipalities.
The aim of the program is to inform about possible psychological reactions and experiences as a refugee. The program also contains simple exercises and tools that can help reduce stress and process difficult reactions. The program is primarily aimed at refugees, but can also be of use to healthcare personnel.
The program is divided into five modules with different themes:
Module 1: Normal thoughts, feelings, actions and bodily reactions after war and flight.
Module 2: How to create good routines and manage a new everyday life.
Module 3: Sleep
Module 4: Restlessness and worry - how to cope with stress, thoughts and anxiety.
Module 5: How to look after children and be a carer in a crisis.
The program has been developed by Helse Bergen, Youwell and Regional resource centers on violence, traumatic stress and suicide prevention (RVTS). The subject content is taken from RVTS and Helse Bergen. It is structured and processed by DigiHub in Helse-Bergen. Cognitive behavioral therapy is used as a method, and the exercises are various mindfulness and breathing exercises.
The platform is provided by Youwell and laid out so that nothing is stored or shared, and the solution does not contain personal data. Users will still have the opportunity to give feedback on the program through an anonymous feedback service.
The program has been translated into Ukrainian and Russian by Tolkenett AS. The themes have been user-tested on a group of refugees with the help of staff in Rapid Mental Health Care in Bergen municipality. In addition, language and content are quality assured by language assistants with a healthcare and Ukrainian/Russian background.
It is specified that this is a program about possible reactions and experiences as a refugee and that you will not come into contact with health personnel via the program. You are encouraged to contact the healthcare system if necessary, and a link to Helsenorge has been attached on how to apply for healthcare in Norway.
We are now publishing version 1 of the program. Over the summer and autumn, we will revise the program and make changes in language, content and theme based on feedback from users and healthcare personnel.
You can find the program here: https://ukraine.youwell.no/
