INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGICAL DEBRIEFING AS A METHOD OF PSYCHOCORRECTION OF PSYCHOEMOTIONAL DISORDERS IN CHILDREN FROM FAMILIES OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS AT A DENTAL APPOINTMENT

Abstract

Introduction. For almost four years, martial law in Ukraine continues to disrupt the lives of over 3.6 million internally displaced persons and 6.7 million refugees, seriously affecting on mental health status. Stress, psychological pressure, and prolonged psychological tension have today become an integral part of the life of every Ukrainian due to the constant threat to life and health. Children and adolescents are particularly sensitive to stress due to their developmental stages and are in dire need of psychological support to mitigate the effects of stress. The purpose of the study is to assess the indicators of the psycho-emotional state in children from families of internally displaced persons based on a multimodal approach – psychological, behavioral and physiological and determine the effectiveness of psychocorrection of identified disorders using individual psychological debriefing and positive psychology for conducting dental treatment. Scientific novelty. The psychological method of measuring stress consisted of conducting a survey using a questionnaire – the L. Reeder Psychological Stress Scale (RSI). Assessment of the psycho-emotional state of children demonstrated the prevalence of high levels of stress (56.5%). Moderate and low levels of stress according to RSI scores were determined in 33.9% and 9.7% of individuals, respectively. Clinical and clinimetric assessment of sleep quality using the Pittsburgh PSQI index showed that 85.5% had poor sleep with its disorders, while only 14.5% of children were interpreted as having good sleep based on the PSQI global score. A study of behavioral modality during an objective examination of children allowed us to identify nonverbal emotions, the main manifestations of which were a lowered emotional background, hypomimia – a mask-like face, a decrease in the intonation of speech, and slowness of movements, and children's nonverbal signals preceded verbal signs. The interviewer's supportive behavior facilitated children's emotional expressions and increased the informativeness of the study. By physiological modality, the study of the biomarker profile of stress – cortisol and melatonin levels in saliva – showed an adequate stress-induced increase in cortisol levels by 3.2 times and a melatonin deficiency that was 3.3 times lower than the reference values, indicating chronic stress. Conducting psychotherapeutic methods – individual psychological debriefing and positive psychology – allowed us to minimize and soften stress, increase children's motivation, which helped to form a positive attitude towards dental treatment and complete the necessary amount of planned therapy. Conclusions. The obtained data emphasize the need for multimodal monitoring of the psychophysiological state and the development of a comprehensive program of psychological assistance to children in war conditions, capable of contributing to the preservation of stress resistance and restoring the ability to overcome difficult life circumstances.