Storytelling - Intervention method for children affected by war trauma

Abstract

The war in Ukraine is the largest humanitarian crisis that Europe has faced in recent years, and our country, Romania, was directly involved in managing the situation created by the refuge of millions of Ukrainians (in particular, mothers and children) who left the country at the beginning of the armed conflict. This type of conflict has had a strong negative impact on children, especially Ukrainian children, and the thus generated trauma can affect the development of self-identity, of spirituality or of the world perspective due to its influence on cognitive processes involving the development of trust, intimacy, control, security, and power. Through our case study we capture the psychological effects of war on children, and the technique „ storytelling” as an effective method of intervention in treating war trauma in children.