PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL MODELS IN THE PROCESS OF PSYCHOREHABILITATION OF COMBAT PARTICIPANTS: CONCEPTS AND FUNCTIONS, AN EXAMPLE

Abstract

The article presents the material that is the result of understanding and systematizing practical work with combatants within the framework of the psycho-rehabilitation process of combatants and war veterans in Ukraine, which was held in the period of 2022–2023. The definition of “psychoeducational model” is brought to the attention of the scientific community, under which it is proposed to understand a structured short block of information about a separate phenomenon of a person’s mental life (or psycho-physiological process, or other content), which contains an explanation of how this or that system functions, explains the cause-and-effect relationship, and contains a simple instruction on how to influence this process in order to restore (or improve) a person’s psychological (psycho-emotional, psychophysical) state. Such an information block must necessarily be accompanied by a metaphorical picture and practical examples, which significantly improves the process of perception and understanding of the provided information by service recipients. Since psychoeducation is one of the types of psychological services, which, according to the current legislation, must be provided during the psychorehabilitation process, a proposal for the systematization and development of clear psychoeducational models that can be used by practical and clinical psychologists and psychotherapists when working with combatants actions, is considered very relevant. The article also indicates the functions of the psychoeducational model: 1) forming a clear understanding of the nature of a particular symptom/syndrome/disorder/condition in the recipient of psychological services, which is relevant; 2) understanding the causes and consequences of those violations that occur at the psychological/behavioral/biological level; 3) the possibility of forecasting future trends and dynamics; 4) the possibility of planning an individual step-by-step treatment/psychocorrection/psychorehabilitation plan, etc. An example of the psychoeducational model “Little man with stones” is presented, which informs about the causes of post-traumatic stress disorder, revealing the principles of the human nervous and endocrine systems, accompanied by a metaphorical drawing.