Psychologists from Ukraine and Estonia are trained in TRT to help Ukrainian children affected by the war.

We provide training in the internationally recognised Teaching Recovery Techniques (TRT). These help children to overcome the effects of trauma and can be applied by specialists and non-specialists alike. 

TRT is quick to learn, widely adaptable and inexpensive to implement. This makes it suitable for many post-crisis situations, such as humanitarian emergencies and mass casualty events, and also for public service providers such as local authority teams working with children, schools and families.

We use a cascade model to reach the children, in which we train those who work with them or who provide services for them – and our trainees go on to train others too. This creates an ever-widening circle of care, reaching out to the widest number of children in the fastest time.

TRT is an evidence-based group intervention developed by world experts in childhood trauma which can be delivered by appropriate adults without a background in mental health. It uses trauma focussed cognitive behaviour therapy techniques to help reduce traumatic reactions in groups of children exposed to events such as wars and disasters and gives children better coping strategies.

TRT is not therapy. It has been developed for use with groups of children, not with youngsters individually. By helping children to develop better coping strategies, it can reduce the need for more specialist intervention later on. However, some children may still need further help.

TRT has been evaluated and found effective when delivered as intended. There have been no reports of retraumatisation when delivered appropriately, and all people attending our training are given access to simple measures to help evaluate youngsters and make informed decisions on children entering the groups.

Studies of TRT were included in the evidence base for NICE Guidelines on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (NG116) which recommends considering group trauma-focused CBT for children and young people after a large scale shared trauma (1.6.8). 

In emergency and conflict settings, we recommend that TRT is used as part of a co-ordinated response according to the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) guidelines for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in emergencies.

A scholarly account of the creation of TRT and its context in humanitarian situations can be read here. This was first published in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology in 2013.  

A case study of the effectiveness of TRT in Ukraine following the Russian invasion of 2022 can be read here. This was first published in the Journal of Affective Disorders in 2024.

Our mission is to help children overcome the trauma of wars and other disasters.

You can support this life-changing work by making a donation or raising funds.