The Centre of Psychological Rehabilitation Feldman Ecopark summed up the first stage of the Happy Child project. During three months the Centre’s specialists gave lessons for the group of adolescents aged 9-11 having certain difficulties of social adaptation and interpersonal interaction in schools. The lessons were aimed at helping children to open themselves and to teach them be happy despite the outward obstacles.
“This group became a little family for children. They are common kids, who, in their young age, faced difficulties, and therefore they need special attention of the adults. Family and school problems are the stressors for general maladjustment of children. In this connection, the results in school, social maladjustment and even the problems of neurotic nature worsen,” the head of psychological service of the Centre of Psychological Rehabilitation Feldman Ecopark, the Candidate of Psychological Sciences Tetiana Aliieva told. “In order to avoid these serious consequences in adolescence, the psychologists together with the parents must help children to overcome difficulties.”
In order to achieve the aim, the project’s psychologists tried to combine various forms of in-game interaction: cheerful and serious trainings, pretend plays, talks, discussions, painting, collage making. With their help, children (and their parents) learned to overcome their fears, to be self-confident, to understand people around and to effectively communicate, to set purposes and to achieve them. The important element of the lessons was the application of animal-assisted therapy. In order to help children to open emotionally, specially trained therapy dogs worked with them.
“The course of our lessons may be called the group training “Happy Me.” The task was to make children happy, open, being able to feel glad and to enjoy the life. I hope we made several first steps on this way, and they will move forward independently. I am sure that every participant of our project will become happier,” The Centre’s child psychologist Iryna Kurtashova told.
The end of the project’s first stage was celebrated by children and adults with festive cake. During these lessons they became friends, they became closer to each other, that is why no one wanted to say goodbye. But the break in the project is not for a long time, as in the beginning of spring, the training will start again and will take place in Feldman Ecopark with the application of group equi Equine-assisted therapy ne-assisted therapy.
