Masha Efrosinina announced the launch of a psychological assistance service for victims of violence

Thirty qualified therapists will provide three free consultations to those in need

PTSD, bipolar disorder, phobias, and even depression are all possible consequences for a person who has suffered from domestic violence. It is difficult to cope with such problems on your own, and it is not always possible to contact a specialist. To help victims take the first step toward healing, the Institute of Cognitive Modeling (ICM) has launched a special service to help victims of domestic violence. There they will be able to get free psychological assistance.

More than a year ago, ICM founded an online platform «Tell me» with free psychological support for people who found symptoms of panic after the coronavirus disease. However, the pandemic is gradually receding, so the creators of the platform decided to pay more attention to the second most common problem in Ukraine – domestic violence. From now on, a special page «It seems» will be available on the «Tell me» platform, dedicated exclusively to this problem. It was created as part of a campaign to combat domestic violence, which in February ICM launched together with Masha Efrosinina’s Masha Foundation and the Red Cross Society of Ukraine.

«On our platform «It seems» people who tell their stories of domestic violence, often ask where they can seek psychological help,» says Masha Efrosinina, a TV presenter and philanthropist. “They want to share their pain with at least one person, not anonymously. And this is very good because it is extremely difficult to cope without the help of a specialist in this case. Earlier, we recommended that they find a psychologist on the “Tell me” platform. Now we have simplified this procedure by creating a special page dedicated to the problem of domestic violence. It contains contacts of structures where you can get help, as well as about 30 psychologists specializing in this problem.»

During the existence of the «Tell me» platform, more than 20 thousand hours of free consultations have been provided, says Viktor Berezenko, founder of ICM.

«Launching a special page «It seems» will help even more people open up and openly tell their story of violence, thereby taking the first step towards healing,» Berezenko says. «All specialists took an additional course of lectures from our supervisor Spartak Subbota to understand even more how to work with people who are experiencing the consequences of domestic tyranny. By that, we hope to help all those who have suffered from violence to heal, and to help break out of the vicious circle for those who are suffering now. And, of course, the main goal of the campaign is to change the terrible statistics. We are making every effort to ensure that next year there will be much fewer affected Ukrainians than 1.8 million.»

The curator of the platforms «It seems» and «Tell me» is a psychotherapist and psychiatrist Spartak Subbota, who has been working for many years, in particular, with victims of violence, and conducts lectures for specialists in this field.

You can sign up for a free online consultation HERE, and tell your story anonymously HERE. The Institute of Cognitive Modeling also founded the Stop Abuse Ukraine Viber channel as part of the campaign, where you can read tips on countering domestic tyranny, information about new laws, inspiring stories of those who broke out of the circle of violence, etc.