Delivering Trauma-Aware Mental Health to 150,000+ Displaced Ukrainians

What it takes to localize digital and face-to-face mental health support at scale — without losing clinical depth or cultural sensitivity.

The U-RISE Project was a multi-country EU initiative that delivered trauma-informed, digital, and face-to-face mental health support to over 150,000 displaced Ukrainians — blending clinical integrity with cultural resonance across borders.

THE CHALLENGE:
As millions fled Ukraine, the crisis wasn’t just logistical — it was deeply psychological. EU countries needed fast, scalable mental health support that could hold trauma, not just track it.

This work required precision, empathy, and emotional credibility — across seven international partners, multiple platforms, and three countries.

MY ROLE:
I was brought into U-RISE as a clinical psychologist and communications strategist.
I helped turn a complex mix of clinical frameworks, European Commission deliverables, and on-the-ground emotional realities into a coordinated response that felt not just accessible, but deeply human.

WHAT I DID:

Adapted WHO and chatbot content for digital distribution, created narrative frameworks
Designed content and flow for facilitator training, grounded in Self-Help+ and Problem Management+ methods
Trained 22 facilitators across Poland, Slovakia, and Romania to lead trauma-informed group interventions
Acted as communications bridge across six consortium partners, aligning messaging with deliverables for the European Commission
Co-authored research papers on MHPSS implementation, later published in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology and Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health
Presented project outcomes at a European Parliament roundtable in Brussels — sharing insights on trauma-informed scale with policymakers

WHAT I DELIVERED:

Culturally adapted stress-management protocols, grounded in clinical psychology and translated with narrative care
Trauma-informed training systems that equipped frontline facilitators to hold space with confidence and compassion
Consortium communications alignment, enabling 6 international partners to present unified, emotionally coherent deliverables
EU-level advocacy, bringing practitioner insight into strategic dialogue on refugee mental health response

RESULTS

Presented at the European Parliament, influencing trauma-informed EU health policy
150,000+ engagements across digital platforms — meeting EC impact benchmarks
Implemented in 3 countries, reaching both refugees and support providers
22 facilitators trained, creating replicable psychosocial intervention capacity
Deliverables approved by the European Commission across all 6 partner organizations

Research published in:

✔️ European Journal of Psychotraumatology, providing a framework to scale trauma-informed interventions for displaced populations across Europe
✔️ Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health, shaping future MHPSS systems
✔️Frontiers in Psychiat ry, getting insights to foster the development of more effective trauma support systems across host countries

EXPERTISE IN ACTION

Clinical Psychology (Trauma & Group Interventions)
Cross-Cultural Content Design
Strategic Communications & Partner Alignment
EU Project Coordination & Policy Engagement
Digital Mental Health Content Strategy

A MOMENT THAT LANDED

During one of the facilitator training sessions, a participant pulled me aside and said: “This is the first time I’ve felt confident explaining trauma in my own words.”

That sentence stays with me. Because it reminded me what this project was really about: Helping people find clarity, language, and voice — even in the aftermath of upheaval.

REFLECTION

This was more than a project. It was a lesson in how care scales — when systems are led by people who listen.

Whether I was adapting WHO content, facilitating training, or translating tension between stakeholders, I held one principle:

“Psychological safety isn’t just ethical — it’s operational. In crisis settings, it becomes a strategic priority.”

That’s what allowed this initiative to land — across countries, contexts, and communities in motion.

Curious how it all came together? Watch the video to see the U-RISE Project in action.

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