A UMass Chan Medical School child trauma specialist is part of a team of international trainers helping guide more than 100 Ukrainian therapists through trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, or TF-CBT.
Zlatina Kostova, PhD, instructor in psychiatry, a clinical psychologist and director of training at Lifeline for Kids, a trauma-informed care training center at UMass Chan for families and clinicians, specializes in childhood trauma and evidence-based treatments for children and adolescents.
“There are hundreds of children out there who are alone and experiencing awful things out of their control,” said Dr. Kostova, adding that having someone who can help children understand it’s not their fault and their story isn’t a broken story is important. “It is a hero’s story. We can help them shift the narrative.”
Ukrainian children and adolescents are experiencing traumatic events as a result of the ongoing war, leading to symptoms of stress, depression, grief and psychological trauma.
Since March 2022, Kostova and an international team of trainers, led by Elisa Pfeiffer, PhD, of Ulm University in Germany, have recruited 130 Ukrainian therapists to participate in TF-CBT Ukraine, a training program in cooperation with the Mental Health for Ukraine Project, Ministry of Health Ukraine and the Psychological Society of Ukraine. The goal of the program is to teach evidence-based trauma therapy to therapists who can help traumatized children and adolescent war refugees in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian therapists have participated in nine training cohorts, which include virtual trainings over a three-day period, and additional sessions on trauma assessment, grief, caregiver involvement and ongoing trauma. Each Ukrainian therapist receives one year of monthly case consultation with the network of trainers.
According to Kostova, the training program is the first introduction of TF-CBT to Ukrainian therapists and each participating therapist can undergo a certified TF-CBT training program. Nearly every month, the program enrolls 30 more Ukrainian clinicians.
“You can change the lives of these children because they are still in their early years of development. By having adults there that are safe, that can intervene, and that can really bring that message of ‘You are amazing’ and ‘You are worthy of love, and there are so many awesome things about you.’ And yes, a lot of bad things happened to them, but that doesn't mean they are broken,” Kostova said. “I think giving that fresh perspective to these children can make profound changes and I think that is worthy of the work we put in.”
The Ukrainian training program is expected to be completed in May 2024.
Kostova joined UMass Chan in 2015 and started in her role at Lifeline for Kids, formerly the UMass Child Trauma Training Center, in 2020 under Jessica Griffin, PsyD, associate professor of psychiatry and founder and executive director of Lifeline for Kids. Kostova was born and raised in Bulgaria. She holds a bachelor’s in psychology and master’s in clinical and community psychology from Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna. She earned her PhD at USI Università della Svizzera italiana in Switzerland. Kostova is an official representative of Italy and Switzerland for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, an international network of trainers of trauma-informed curricula.
