Raíces Ancestrales Meets with Odessa Mental Health Clinic to Scale Integrated Care for Warfighters and Families
ODESA, ODESA OBLAST, UKRAINE, November 25, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Representatives of Raíces Ancestrales met with leaders and staff of the Odessa Mental Health Clinic to address urgent trauma-care needs among Ukrainian service members and their families. The session focused on scaling a whole-person model that combines psychological care, neurological screening, and physical rehabilitation, while incorporating families into treatment from the outset.
The clinic described the scope and realities on the ground:
• Scale of need: Approximately 1 million soldiers currently require psychological support, yet only a fraction are receiving care.
• Clinician shortage: Out of roughly 3,500 psychologists, only 16 are formally certified to work war cases; about 500 are in accelerated training pipelines.
• Integrated model: Care blends counseling with IV support, physiotherapy, and family counseling under one roof.
• Ongoing trauma: With troops cycling back to the front, providers frame their work as “integration” into a changed life, not “reintegration” into a former normal.
• Hidden TBI: Many “PTSD” presentations appear to be traumatic brain injury (TBI); stakeholders emphasized the value of baseline scans and rapid field-screening to steer proper referrals.
• Family role: Families are essential partners in stabilization and recovery; excluding them increases relapse and risk.
“Ukraine’s clinicians are holding the line for an entire generation,” said Luis Fernando Guadamuz of Raíces Ancestrales. “What stood out in Odessa was their honesty about constraints and their commitment to integration-focused, family-centered care. When counseling, physiology, and family all move together, you actually stabilize a veteran.”
“Families are the missing lever in most trauma systems,” said Samantha Cushing of Raíces Ancestrales. “Odessa’s team treats loved ones as co-therapists in recovery. That aligns with everything we’ve seen work: equip the family with skills and language, and you lower stress, reduce crises, and speed healing.”
During the meeting, partners aligned on practical next steps to explore:
1. Knowledge exchange on brief, field-ready TBI screening and referral pathways.
2. Co-designed, family-centered group programming that clinics can deploy during short rest windows between deployments.
3. A small integration pilot to document outcomes and inform policy and philanthropic investment.
About Raíces Ancestrales
Raíces Ancestrales supports veterans, first responders, and families through culturally grounded, evidence-informed programs that integrate psychological resilience, physiological recovery, and community connection.
Claire Fenzel
The Marketing Concierge
+1 336-324-1190
email us here
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
