Dr Oleh Hukovskyy, military psychologist, Lieutenant of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and head of the Combat Stress Control Group in the 67th Separate Mechanised Brigade, joined with members of the Defend Ukraine Appeal to discuss the current challenges and developing innovations in supporting psychological wellbeing in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Question: Traditionally, military psychology focuses on helping soldiers readjust to civilian life. However, due to russia’s invasion, Ukraine has had to quickly pivot to the reverse. What are the different strategies and difficulties yourself and other military psychologists have encountered in navigating this?
Dr Oleh Hukovskyy: It is always better to prevent than to deal with the consequences. We say that one hryvnia in prevention can save one hundred hyrvnias in dealing with the consequences. Military psychologists, including myself, need to change our mindset and skills. I was working with veterans transitioning back, dealing with combat traumas, PTSD, moral injury. So we need to advance in knowledge on the reverse process.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, I have been contacting international colleagues for this type of knowledge and current practices. I found amazing experts in the US, for instance Dr Amy Adler, and others who have created a lot of methodologies. I began to organise webinars to train psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists who were coming to the army, and needed to learn quickly what to do. So what we are doing is to strengthen resilience, so that soldiers and families, and society as a whole, can be more resistant and able to bounce back when they are out of balance; how they can support each other, communication skills, focus and social awareness; and how to raise leadership awareness to foster more supportive and intentional communication between commanders and their soldiers. Military leaders must be more aware and considerate of the fact that now civilians constitute 80% of our army, so the communication must be different. Civilians are not used to the strict hierarchy and obedience of the army, and need more autonomy and a more relaxed framework to be most effective.
Our experiences and findings are interesting for armies and experts all around the world, as we have had to find new ways to raise resilience in a very short time.
Question: With limited human resources, what are the issues with rotation from military-to-civilian and back to military?
Dr Oleh Hukovskyy: Unfortunately, we cannot control the rotation rhythm of when and for how long soldiers remain stationed or on leave, and there are brigades that have not had rotations but are replaced with new troops periodically. And for some brigades, it is easier because they have familiarity with the environment, which raises their survivability. What we have tried in my brigade is smaller rotations, meaning short periods in the trench, with regular rest rotations. However, it should be made clear that this rest is not really rest. It is difficult to get sleep, but generally after a day’s rest, important work needs to be done on the technology and camp. We have a psychological aid station, where people can get short rest for three days. We are able to recommend to the commander if a particular soldier requires this rest. Our approach to psychological assistance in these settings is more interactive, resource-building, conversational and nature-based.
Almost every family has issues, it is common to have secondary trauma for those not directly involved in the trauma. For family members not involved in combat, it is normal for them to experience this trauma because they are scared for their loved one. They need the same support, and it cannot be done by military psychologists. So we coordinate with other psychologists or organisations to support the families. For example, inviting them for peer group sessions. We have some veteran centres in some regions, where families can receive support and strengthen their togetherness. What creates trauma is uniqueness and isolation. If you are isolated, you are already traumatised. You are withdrawn from others, or you might not know where to go, so it is important to give information about resources.
Question: You were invited to Australia to attend and present at the 64th Annual International Military Testing Association Conference by the Australian Defence Force. What did you learn that you can take back to Ukraine and what new insights from your practice were you able to inform the Australian Defence Force on?
Dr Oleh Hukovskyy: It was a very important conference. Since 1959, the International Military Testing Association – the biggest international military psychological organisation – showcases and connects various psychological services from armed forces around the world. It is an expert hub for military psychological services, research and practice. To be invited and attend this event and association was very important in my role to make connections with professionals all around the world. The main expertise that was featured at this conference was about the selection process. I believe selection is a crucial part of our critical development in the future. For now, we don’t have the ability to focus on psychological assessment and selection because we need everybody. However, some very interesting testimonials I heard argued that if you don’t prioritise the selection process, it can create problems afterwards. For instance, this was argued by colleagues and friends from Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands – who have shared F16s with us. We are very grateful for this support and have a great relationship with them.
I think we will move to this approach. My main mission being in Australia is not to just get more information for my practice, but to act as a bridge between people – to connect others that can create further impact in our Armed Forces.
We had many real-life examples and cases and we had great conversations about moral injury. In our case, it is not so much about kill or not to kill. In our case, a lot of the time moral injury has occurred because it is difficult for civilians to always take such actions, and when they are unable to perform their tasks, what can happen is there is danger for his comrades. For example, if a soldier freezes in action or is not psychologically fit.
What should our soldiers overcome to become warriors, and fast? When people come to the military, they have no military background, and are older. Our average age now is 45+, so for Australia it was very unusual. Usually you have young and fit. And we have a lot of soldiers of older age, many with chronic diseases. Usually the only strength they can rely on is their motivation and their will to protect the country.
Question: What is Combat Path Debriefing?
Dr Oleh Hukovskyy: It is a group process after some important event or after some period of time when a team, everybody who was involved in some way, can debrief – breathe out, and externalise these internal processes, especially if they are stuck on something. In a group setting, everyone is equal and allowed to speak, and it should be done in a respectful way. It is not psychotherapy per se, because debriefing is more akin to ancient practices, seen in tribes around the fire – singing and sharing their stories to get on the same page. They can be open, and it is important not to hide such important processes. People feel a sense of inclusion, that they are a member of the team or specific group. In our military setting, we have a team of specially trained people, who are participating in a specific role and need to talk about it afterwards – it is very natural. In my practice, I like to provide debriefing as much as possible, not always in the same format, sometimes in a more concise structure, but finishing in a constructive way. During debriefing, I can also observe reactions and take note of risky behaviours, where I would then want to have individual consulting. Usually, we talk about what was bad, what was good, and about how they overcame these obstacles. Through this, people gain more awareness of their internal processes and what has stayed inside of them, and how strong they are. For me, debriefing is about power. Power and cohesion.
Question: Many countries, Ukraine included, have a history of stigma towards mental health, particularly when it comes to the military. Have you seen a change in that due to the full-scale invasion and massive civilian involvement in the military?
Dr Oleh Hukovskyy: Yes, absolutely. I like to say we have anti-stigma, meaning people are aware that something is wrong with them, because we have a lot of psychological, psychical and neurological consequences from drone attacks, artillery, shell shock, air alarms. Almost everyone has sleep issues, headaches, etc. So there is nothing to hide, because almost everyone shares these issues who are on the frontline – it is not unique. Stigma can result from a unique trauma or issue, but when everyone is the same it’s not. In my experience, everyone speaks openly about these issues. The problem is leadership sometimes does not allow soldiers to receive proper help, because they need them on the frontline. And sometimes soldiers need more than just one consultation, maybe a few weeks. Unfortunately, this is not always possible. We need to find ways to enable better treatment so soldiers are able to be effective and engaged on the frontline. That’s why we need more people, but we also need smart technology and processes so people can have rotations; people can be replaced by drones. This is why we need more drones and robotic technology for reconnaissance and evacuations from the battlefield. You can not only save lives with these technologies, but give people more time and opportunity to recover, psychically and mentally.
By Isabelle Liddy