Professional Resilience of a Psychotherapist in the Context of Shared War Trauma: Phenomenology, Risks of Maladaptation, and International Experience
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: In the context of the full-scale war in Ukraine, the professional stability of specialists in socionomic occupations has acquired strategic importance for the preservation of the nation's mental health. Psychotherapists face a unique challenge—a "shared traumatic reality," where both the professional and the client exist under identical conditions of existential threat. This necessitates a conceptual reappraisal of traditional resilience models and the development of specific support strategies for therapists. The article conceptualizes the professional resilience of psychotherapists amidst prolonged warfare, analyzes the mechanisms of its depletion, and explores recovery resources based on both national and international experiences. The study employs a complex of theoretical methods: systematic analysis of scientific literature, comparative analysis of professional practices in armed conflict zones (Israel, Syria, Iraq), and a synthesis of neurobiological approaches to the study of empathy. The study differentiates between the concepts of general and professional resilience, defining the latter as a conscious ethical competence. Drawing on the neurobiological models of T. Singer and O. Klimecki, the mechanism of "empathic distress" is identified as the primary cause of compassion fatigue. It is demonstrated that exhaustion results not from excessive empathy, but from fixation on pain resonance without a transition to the phase of active compassion. Particular attention is paid to the phenomenon of "double exposure." International research confirms that a shared traumatic background intensifies emotional resonance but can be transformed into "vicarious resilience." The article substantiates the implementation of organizational strategies: trauma-informed workload (case-mix), adaptive setting (flexible framing), and a culture of "low-impact debriefing." The timely implementation of these strategies at both organizational and individual levels allows therapists to integrate shared traumatic experience into professional and personal growth, preventing destructive personality changes and professional deformation in the long term.
Authors: Ірина Сингаївська, Тетяна Саніна
Institution: KROK University
Language: English
Topic: Resilience and Mental Health
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7148529048