Lesley Institute for Trauma Sensitivity Lesley Institute for Trauma Sensitivity

Explores Educator Wellbeing

Natalya Rakevich, PhD Explores Educator Wellbeing

Natalya Rakevich, PhD

Explores Educator Wellbeing

Ideas on how Educators & Psychologists

Can Support Each Other Globally

Seven ideas to remember from my presentation:

  1. No matter how dark it is around you, there is always light — at the very least, the light within you. It is always possible to find something positive, even in the midst of negativity.

  2. It is vital for educators, psychologists, and counselors to feel supported and to understand that they are not alone.

  3. Connections with others are crucial, especially during traumatic or stressful experiences.

  4. It’s important to learn and practice coping mechanisms before experiencing stress or trauma, not only in the moment.

  5. There are no universal coping mechanisms that work for everyone, everywhere, all the time.

  6. The well-being of educators directly affects the well-being of their students. This is why learning to cope with trauma in healthy ways is essential.

  7. All coping mechanisms work best when practiced mindfully.

It was an honor to share my experiences and ideas with so many educators from different countries at the International School Psychology Association Conference in Coimbra, Portugal.

I am deeply grateful to my colleagues and co-authors: Dr. Colleen O’Neal, Dr. Joe Mageary, Dr. Tricia McDonough Ryan, and Daria Sustrietova.


“Peace be with you. Peace be with your family. Peace be with your country. Peace be with Ukraine.”

SSEC Conference, Detroit, Michigan, June 17 - 21, 2025

Maintaining Well-being: Coping Strategies for Prolonged Traumatic Experiences from the Stories of Ukrainian Educators During the Wartime

Natalya Rakevich, PhD

International Refugee and Migration Conference
Halifax Convention Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 27 - 29, 2025

Learn about VeLa!

VeLa Well-Being was created to support individuals in helping professions—educators, psychologists, counselors, and administrators, as well as parents and caregivers —in maintaining their own well-being. Our mission extends to enabling these professionals to assist those they work with in maintaining well-being through the following steps:

1 Awareness: Recognize and observe stressful or traumatic events in their own lives and in the lives of students, clients, coworkers, subordinates, patients, and children.
2 Empowerment: Empower oneself and others to create positive changes in their lives.
3 Well-being: Maintain personal well-being and support others in achieving the same.

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Nadege D. O Nadege D. O

Work with Ukrainian Educators

Doctoral student Natalia Rakevich Ganchina left her family and friends in Ukraine to come to Lesley and study educational leadership after the Russian invasion. When the war broke out, Natalia reached out to Sal Terrasi at the Lesley Institute for Trauma Sensitivity to develop a series of Zoom sessions to support educators, art therapists, and psychologists currently working throughout the crisis.

Doctoral student Natalia Rakevich Ganchina left her family and friends in Ukraine to come to Lesley and study educational leadership after the Russian invasion. When the war broke out, Natalia reached out to Sal Terrasi at the Lesley Institute for Trauma Sensitivity to develop a series of zoom sessions to support educators, art therapists, and psychologists currently working throughout the crisis.

Several ongoing series of online workshops were created to meet the most urgent needs of Ukrainian professionals. Joining Natalia, Sal Terassi, Joe Ristuccia, Diana Direiter, and Joe Mageary have designed weekly sessions to build a community of practitioners working in the midst of loss, displacement, and violence. Their ongoing sessions give a space to connect, comfort, and share tools to support their clients in crisis. 

As issues and questions arose, the LIfTS team responded with support. Alicia Gray, the LIfTS research fellow, shared a series of art lessons for educators over zoom to nurture children in crisis. The educators found these sessions useful and a peaceful reprieve from the harsh context of war. 

The practitioners faced traumatic situations that they felt unprepared for and specifically asked for tools to work with children with disabilities. Beverly Cush Evans, Nadege Tessono Okotie, and Patricia Crain de Galarce developed workshops that focused on children with (and without) disabilities impacted by trauma. Each workshop acknowledged the trauma of the professionals, the children they worked with, and their families. Strategies were shared to gather children’s voices, express strong emotions, and create a sense of ‘safety.’ Art elicitation tools like mark making, zine, and storytelling were modeled with differentiation suggestions to meet the needs of all students. Resources included emotional continuums, ‘what I need’ buttons, social stories, silent play, and many more.

Check out the Vela Project here.

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