Psychosocial Rehabilitation of Military Personnel with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder:  The Example of Ukraine

Introduction: Given the current events of the Russian-Ukrainian war, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most common psychological problems among military personnel, which requires the introduction and use of new techniques of psychological rehabilitation.Objectives: The study aims to develop and test a comprehensive programme for psychological rehabilitation of military personnel and determine its effectiveness.Methods: The study was conducted among 30 military respondents diagnosed with PTSD. The experiment used pre-test and post-test data from participants at three different time points: pre-intervention, two weeks post-intervention, and four months post-intervention—main instruments: Military PTSD Checklist and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). For mental health assessment, 3 scientifically validated indicators were used for data analysis: PCL-M, PHQ-9, and GAD-7.Results: The results demonstrate the need to implement a comprehensive psychological rehabilitation programme for military personnel. If, at the beginning of the test, they were diagnosed with PTSD, acute depression and anxiety, then after two weeks of implementing the comprehensive programme, the indicators decreased significantly. After 4 months, the scores rose slightly but not significantly. This demonstrates the relevance and importance of using various activities to support the psychological state of military personnel who have experienced difficult and traumatic periods. Conclusions: The conclusions summarise that recovery from PTSD requires a comprehensive approach that should consider the internal and external characteristics of each patient