The use of psychological tools in the educational process – the impact on the mental health of teachers
Martial law in the country causes deep physical and psycho-emotional stress for the general population, especially for teachers, who are responsible not only for the educational outcome but also for the psychological well-being and even safety of students. For the third academic year in a row, Ukraine has been actively introducing psychological tools called “psychological minutes” into the educational process. These approaches are recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and involve the use of various techniques and exercises to support students’ mental health and are applied directly by teachers during the learning process.
In May-June 2023 and 2024, we carried out an anonymous online survey of 920 teachers from all regions of Ukraine. All respondents provided informed consent to participate in the study. The standardized GAD-2 and PHQ-2 questionnaires were used to identify symptoms of anxiety and depression. Additionally, data were collected on gender, age, teaching experience, subject of teaching, type of settlement, and the degree of involvement in the use of psychological tools. For statistical analysis, logistic regression and Spearman’s correlation coefficient were used. Calculations were performed in SPSS 26.0.
In general, 84.4% of the surveyed teachers reported using “psychological minutes” during the educational process. Teachers consider breathing exercises (chosen by more than 70% of respondents), art therapy, music therapy, and conversational emotional support techniques to be the most effective forms of psychological support.
Regarding the mental state of teachers: the proportion of people with anxiety symptoms was 38.9%, and with depression symptoms – 45.6%. There were no statistically significant differences between the results of 2023 and 2024. Logistic regression models taking into account spatial and temporal factors, age, gender, and professional characteristics did not show a significant relationship between the presence of anxiety or depression symptoms and the use of “psychological minutes” by teachers.
The data obtained indicate that despite the widespread integration of psychological tools into the educational process, no positive impact on the psycho-emotional state of teachers has been recorded. Participation in trainings and courses on the implementation of “psychological minutes” and the application of these skills in practice does not guarantee “by default” an improvement in the psychological well-being of teachers. The results of our study indicate the need to develop separate effective targeted psychological support programs specifically for teachers as a high-risk professional group.
It is also necessary to continue monitoring the mental health of all participants in the educational process under martial law to improve strategies to support their mental health.
More information about this study is available here:
https://doi.org/10.32782/pub.health.2024.2.1
https://doi.org/10.32345/2664-4738.4.2024.09
Head of the Laboratory of the Social Determinants of Population Health of the SI «IPH NAMSU»
Svitlana Hozak
(date of publication on the website 28.05.2025)