Центр новин News Summary of the Training for Partner NGOs: “Providing Harm Reduction Services to Adolescents with Drug Use Experience”

Summary of the Training for Partner NGOs: “Providing Harm Reduction Services to Adolescents with Drug Use Experience”

From August 19 to 22, 2024, in Truskavets, we conducted a training session as part of the project “Emergency Support for HIV and STI Prevention Services for Adolescents with Drug Use Experience During and After the War in Ukraine,” funded by Expertise France/L’Initiative.

The training aimed to enhance participants’ knowledge of effective service delivery to adolescents with drug use experience, improve counseling skills among project team members, and create optimal conditions for the health, safety, and development of adolescents in Ukraine.

Our partners actively participated in the training, including:

All Ukrainian Charitable Organization “Convictus Ukraine”
Charitable Foundation “New Family”
Charitable Foundation “Return to Life”
Charitable Organisation “Kharkiv charitable fund “Blago”
Public Organization “Nasha Dopomoga” 

 

The tasks participants set for themselves at the beginning of the training include:
  • Update knowledge on the standards for providing psychosocial services to vulnerable adolescents with drug use experience
  • Understand the behavioral characteristics of adolescents who use drugs
  • Learn to more effectively conduct group prevention sessions, interactive activities, and art therapy
  • Get acquainted with new colleagues from different project teams and establish new professional and personal contacts
  • Acquire knowledge of effective offline and online forms and methods of working with at-risk adolescents in individual and group settings.

The participants showed the most interest in the following topics:

  • Standards for providing psychosocial services to vulnerable adolescents according to best practices.
  • Principles of setting work goals with clients and tracking project indicators.
  • Development of skills for individual and group counseling of adolescents.
  • Prevention of professional burnout among specialists.
  • Integration of new employees into teams and the development of effective team collaboration.

Thanks to the professional work of the trainers—Svitlana Haiduk, Oleksandr Mohylka, and Nataliia Hryshyna—the participants gained new knowledge and skills that will help them work more effectively with at-risk adolescents.

Over the course of four days, the participants not only deepened their understanding of modern standards for psychosocial services but also acquired practical skills necessary for effective work with adolescents in the post-war context.

Therefore, after completing the training, participants will be able to apply the knowledge they gained to:

1. Develop interactive methods for working with adolescents: create more engaging and captivating forms of interaction, such as quests, to work more effectively with at-risk youth.

2. Optimize online communication: utilize new online tools and methods to enhance engagement with adolescents in the digital space.

3. Apply new therapeutic approaches: use techniques like motivational interviewing and group therapy to support adolescents in challenging life situations and promote positive behavioral changes.

4. Improve work with families: better engage with the families of adolescents, fostering greater support and involvement in the change process.

5. Teach and share experiences: pass on the skills and knowledge acquired to other team members, helping to raise the team’s overall effectiveness.

This knowledge will contribute to creating a safe environment and providing support for adolescents who need it. We are grateful to all partners for their contributions and commitment to positive change.
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