6 cartoons that will help children overcome stress

Command Charitable Foundation Caritas Ukraine created a series of Ukrainian-language cartoons, which are available for free, as part of the project "Psychosocial Support for Participants in the Educational Process in Wartime Conditions in Ukraine", with financial support from Caritas Korea.

Each of these animated videos tells the story of a child who went through difficult times but was able to find resources within themselves, overcome difficulties, and become stronger.

«There is a lot of information on the Internet about stress and ways to overcome it. Participants in the educational process - children and teachers - are already oversaturated with formal recommendations and advice, so we were looking for a different way to present this complex topic, – says one of the initiators of the preparation of cartoons, manager of the project of psychosocial support for children of Caritas Ukraine Maryna Martynenko. – We decided to work through stories that children encounter every day and in which they can recognize themselves or their peers. They are understandable to them and capture their attention from the first seconds».

The series of cartoons "The Way of the Superhero" is built according to the multimodal model Basic PH. This is a multidimensional model of overcoming stress and finding inner stability, developed by Professor Muli Laad, director of the Israeli Center for Stress Prevention. It demonstrates different styles, ways in which a person can cope with stress and crisis.

«This model is tested and proven. Israel has been living in war for over 70 years and its children have grown up on similar materials, and for us – Ukrainians – this can also help in overcoming stress. These videos, in particular, emphasize the need to experience emotions and not keep everything to yourself.", - he clarifies Marina Martynenko.

The Basic PH model describes six elements that make up each person's stress coping style: 1 - philosophy of life, beliefs and moral values; 2 - feelings, emotions; 3 - society and belonging to it, family and friends; 4 - the game of imagination, intuition and creativity; 5 - knowledge, logic, reality and thoughts; 6 - physiology, sensory modality and activity. Each series of the superhero cartoon reveals one of these elements.

Experts were involved in developing the cartoon scripts - five practical psychologists and teachers who have extensive experience working with families in difficult life circumstances, as well as displaced children from the first wave of 2014 and the new ones of 2022-2023. These are psychologists from local organizations - Caritas of the Sambir-Drohobych Diocese, Caritas Brody, Caritas Ternopil, Caritas Khmelnytskyi and Caritas Odessa.

«Our main inspirer and editor was Zoryana Lukavetska, head of children's and youth projects at Caritas Ukraine. Natalya Syrotych, psychologist at Caritas Kyiv, proofread and left her competent comments. For example, based on her recommendations, we removed or replaced some objects from the frame that could be triggers for children., – says Maryna Martynenko.

In addition to children, focus groups of 40 teachers from schools in 20 regions of Ukraine also watched the cartoons. Providing feedback, teachers responded positively and expressed their intention to use these tools when working with children in lessons, after-school hours, and even in shelters.

The cartoons "The Path of a Superhero" can be viewed at the links on Caritas Ukraine's YouTube:

1. Series "FAITH IS OUR SUPPORT"

2. Series “EMOTIONS ARE OUR TEACHERS”

3. The series “MIND IS OUR ASSISTANT”

4. Series "THE BODY IS OUR FRIEND"

 5. Series "ENVIRONMENT - OUR SUPPORT"

 6. Series “IMAGINA – OUR STRENGTH”