Implementing a multilayered school-based psychosocial support model in wartime Ukraine: SAFE SPACE
S Bogdanov, K Harbar, V Chernobrovkin, V Chernobrovkina, O Zaleska, H BaranAbstract
Background
Since the full-scale invasion, schools in Ukraine have had to provide psychosocial support under conditions of insecurity, disruption, overload, and limited access to specialist care. SAFE SPACE was developed as a multilayered school-based model in which teachers used resilience-supporting skills in daily work with children, school psychologists delivered a structured 7-session group intervention, and children with more severe difficulties could be referred for psychotherapy. Supervision was integrated at each level.
Methods
In this retrospective program evaluation, we examined delivery across the different levels of the model, including training, supervision, group intervention, and referral to specialised care, focusing on barriers and enabling factors.
Results
More than 3,000 teachers from over 500 schools participated in training and supervision. In parallel, 105 school psychologists from 10 regions were trained; 177 supervision meetings were conducted with psychologists and 502 with teachers; 1,197 group sessions were delivered to 2,009 children; and children with higher levels of need could be referred for psychotherapy. Implementation was supported by clear structure, practical relevance, and regular supervision. The main barriers were: workload, lack of protected time and administrative support, unclear participation conditions, childcare and family responsibilities, reporting burden, parent hesitation around consent, limited materials and space, burnout, air raids, shelling, evacuations, and unstable electricity and internet access.
Conclusions
A multilayered school-based model can be implemented in wartime Ukraine, including referral to specialised care. However, successful delivery depends on flexible organisation, protected staff time, strong supervision, and realistic implementation planning under conditions of chronic insecurity. These findings are relevant for public mental health implementation in conflict-affected settings.