Building team capacity: A social work specialist from Barvinkove becomes a “Parenting Without Stress” programme trainer

Marina Shyika, a social work specialist at the Child-Friendly Space in Barvinkove, Kharkiv region, has completed training that opens a new professional role for her — as a trainer of the “Parenting Without Stress” programme. This means that she will soon be able not only to conduct sessions for parents, but also to train other specialists to work with families in communities.

The training was the first in a series of sessions organized within the framework of the “PORUCH” project in cooperation with UNICEF Ukraine and the All-Ukrainian Public Center “Volunteer.” Such inter-organizational collaboration strengthens the system of quality psychosocial support at the community level.

“After the full-scale invasion, we see growing tension in communities: families lose connections, children behave differently, and parents often don’t know how to respond. I work daily with families who have experienced loss, evacuation, or separation, and I understand how important it is to have effective tools for overcoming crises, providing support, and adapting to life’s challenges. This training is, above all, my professional development and a chance to help other specialists apply modern methods in working with families,” says Marina Shyika.

Over the course of three intensive days, the training participants:

• mastered modern techniques of non-violent communication;
• learned to work with stress and age-related crises in children and adults;
• deepened their knowledge of non-stereotypical and non-violent parenting;
• explored new risks of adolescence and the resources of positive parenting.

Several more stages are ahead: practical implementation of the programme with a group of parents, supervision support, and final certification.

For the team of the NGO “Responsible Citizens,” developing staff capacity is a strategic priority. Our specialists work under extremely difficult wartime conditions, and the quality of assistance we can provide to children and families depends on their professional training.

We are sincerely grateful to UNICEF Ukraine and our partners for their systematic efforts to strengthen the capacities of specialists. Thanks to such training opportunities, we ensure that communities receive resilient and high-quality support even in the most challenging times.