Refugee psychologist from Mariupol now helps fellow sufferers online from the Netherlands
NOS News•
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Chiem Balduk
Editor Abroad
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Fiorella Opromola
editor Abroad
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Chiem Balduk
Editor Abroad
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Fiorella Opromola
editor Abroad
Psychologist Olena Hibert went into hiding for a month in an air raid shelter in Mariupol. With hundreds of people crammed together, the bombs fell on her ward. Now she is safe in the Netherlands, from help to resume her work as a psychoanalyst. As an expert by experience, she knows better than anyone what the survivors of Mariupol need: psychological help.
She now speaks to her clients online to provide psychological advice:
Refugee psychologist from Mariupol: ‘Provide help to Ukrainian refugees’
“Try to process the aggression, you should not build it up,” Olena told her client Olga, who fled from Mariupol to Poland with her children. Although the conversations are the problem, finding problems no problem that the NOS camera is the huge conversation. “They would like to participate in a report because they do not want Mariupol to be forgotten,” says the psychologist.
Until February 24, Olena, who was originally Russian-Tatar, had a successful private practice in Mariupol. “I made good money, could travel and order food whenever I wanted and celebrate my birthday in the restaurant.” That life was destroyed in one fell swoop by the Russian invasion.
Panic Attack
With her son, she spent a month in the bomb shelter, her two cats remained in the apartment. She advised: “At one point I had to flee with a friend, whether it was possible or not. We repressed our fear and were no longer afraid of dying.” They said goodbye to the place where she never expected to return.
It is quite easy to arrive in Zapor State to easily arrive in a city that is under Ukrainian control. “That’s where I had a panic attack for the first time in my life, probably because of the tension I was really having and holding,” says Olena. They conflicted, began to attack. “Because I have experience in trauma psychology, I can handle it.”
In the Netherlands, Olena has rusted quite a bit, although she has not fully recovered. “That’s normal too. You can’t say so many tragic events that you’re completely old, I won’t believe that.” She is additionally saddened by the reaction of her family in Russia, with whom she no longer has contact. “They believe the propaganda and say that Ukraine itself bombed Mariupol.”
Mariupol syndrome
It was not her choice to resume consultations with her clients from Mariupol. “But they contacted again because they urgently needed help.” They are scattered throughout Europe, from safe areas in Ukraine to Ireland and France.
She sees the same problems in each of them: pent up anger, sadness and a lot of pain. “They have seen people die in inhumane conditions for months.” Some of her colleagues speak of a ‘Mariepol syndrome’.
It is nice to offer help, Olena sees. Many specialists do not know how to deal with the refugees from Mariupol because of the usual techniques for trauma. “Those protocols work if you’ve been able to rest in a safe place and for a long time, they often don’t have that.”
Ukrainian psychologists are still waiting for their diplomas to be recognized
That is why it is important that they get the right help quickly, thinks Olena. “If they don’t get psychological help, their condition deteriorates further. People can’t flush themselves.” A Dutch specialist in combination with a Ukrainian or Russian-speaking interpreter is not enough. “Language is then a barrier. And it is also ethically irresponsible to have such a conversation with the three of us.”
An estimated 150 Ukrainian psychologists are in the Netherlands. Hibert does not know a single refugee colleague who is officially at work. “Everyone is still waiting for the diplomas to be recognised.”
Barriers
The House of Representatives has adopted a D66 motion to allow Ukrainian psychologists to work faster in the Netherlands. Ukrainian refugees are not allowed to work as freelancers to prevent exploitation. “But we are talking about professionals here who are used to working as a self-employed person,” says D66 MP Anne-Marijke Podt. She hopes that the removal of all exercises will be speeded up.
Olena is confident in the future, worked in the Netherlands as a psychologist. That also contributes to her own recovery: “When I talk to my clients about their traumas, I find that I am also helping myself.”