Boryviter × State Special Transport Service: Practical Psychology for the Military

The Boryviter team systematically cooperates with the State Special Transport Service of Ukraine (SSTS) within the framework of professional training sessions for military psychologists and officers of psychological support units of the “East” Regional Directorate and its subordinate military units.

Practice as the Foundation of Training

Boryviter’s training programs are built not merely on theory but around real-life cases that officers face daily in their service. These include crisis psycho-emotional states of military personnel, combat stress, PTSD, working with trauma of loss, and supporting families of fallen and missing service members.

Since September 2025, our psychologists have worked with 311 military personnel. Among them, 46 officers (psychological support officers/psychologists) completed the “Practical Psychology” course, while 265 service members participated in the adaptation support program.

Key principles of the training include:

• analysis of real situations from officers’ professional practice;
• explanation of complex psychological processes in clear and accessible language;
• development of skills that can be applied immediately “in the field.”
  

“Our training programs are like a forge. The material is brought by the trainees themselves: sometimes it is raw ore — challenges that still need to be transformed into solutions. Sometimes it is already tempered steel — solutions tested in real field conditions. Among all structures, the SSTS sends the largest number of officers to psychology courses, and we are grateful for that — your experience keeps our programs sharp.”
— Mykola, Boryviter, psychologist and one of the heads of the psychology direction.

Topics covered during the training:

• Psychological screening and basic clinical diagnostics of mental disorders.
• Long-distance relationships and family conflicts.
• PTSD: differences from acute stress reaction and acute stress disorder. Post-traumatic growth.
• Formation of addictions. Types of psychoactive substances and gambling addiction. Prevention.
• Suicidal behavior: identification and support.
• The TRiM protocol: a method for preventing mental health disorders. Differences from debriefing.
• Conflict Management: Causes of Conflicts and Methods of Resolution.

Boryviter psychologists focus on practical skill development necessary for working with military personnel in crisis psycho-emotional states, as well as for supporting their families.

Military service members note that such training also helps to:

• get to know each other better;
• restore their own psychological resources;
• build a shared professional support environment.

Representatives of the State Special Transport Service also honored Mykola Kozhukharenko, a psychologist of the Boryviter Military School, with an award from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. For the Boryviter team, this recognition is especially valuable in combination with direct feedback from the service members who undergo the training, as together they confirm that the chosen approach truly works.

We thank our partners for their cooperation and continue moving forward in providing psychological support and assistance to military personnel.