On the Psychological Service

I. General Provisions

1.1. These Regulations define the purpose, structure, management, main tasks, principles, functions, content and procedure of operation of the psychological service of the Separate Structural Subdivision “OTPC ONAFT” and constitute the legal and organisational-methodological basis of its work.

1.2. The psychological service of the Separate Structural Subdivision “OTPC ONAFT” (hereinafter the College) ensures the timely and systematic study of the psychophysical development of students of higher education and of the motives of their behaviour and activity, taking into account age-related, intellectual, physical, gender-related and other individual characteristics, and helps to create conditions for the fulfilment of educational and upbringing tasks.

Psychological support of the educational process at the College is provided by a practical psychologist.

1.3. The purpose of the psychological service is to help create conditions for the social and intellectual development of students, to protect mental health, and to provide psychological and social-pedagogical support to all participants in the educational process in accordance with the aims and objectives of the education system.

1.4. In its activities the psychological service is guided by the Constitution of Ukraine, the Laws of Ukraine “On Higher Education” and “On Professional Pre-Higher Education”, other laws of Ukraine, resolutions of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, acts of the President of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, as well as these Regulations.

1.5. The terms used in these Regulations have the meanings set out in the Laws of Ukraine “On Higher Education”, “On Professional Pre-Higher Education”, “On Prevention and Combating of Domestic Violence”, “On Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men”, “On Social Work with Families, Children and Young People”, “On Child Protection”, “On Social Services” and other acts of the legislation of Ukraine.

1.6. The psychological service cooperates with healthcare, social policy, youth and sports, and internal affairs authorities, other executive authorities, as well as with municipal institutions for the social protection of children and for the support of families, children and young people, social work specialists of amalgamated territorial communities, and public organisations.

II. Structure, Management and Content of the Activities of the Psychological Service

2.1. Structure of the psychological service: the State Scientific Institution “Institute for the Modernisation of the Content of Education”; the Ukrainian Scientific and Methodological Centre for Practical Psychology and Social Work of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine; the Scientific and Methodological Centre for Practical Psychology and Social Work of the Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education of Odesa Region.

2.2. The psychological service of the College includes a practical psychologist, who is subordinate to the Director of the College on all matters of activity.

2.3. The practical psychologist of the College carries out:

• psychological support of the educational process;

• psychological support of the mental, intellectual, social and physical development of students;

• psychological diagnostics and analysis of the dynamics of the mental, intellectual and social development of students;

• psychological support of adaptation to the conditions of the educational process;

• implementation of developmental, preventive, educational and correctional programmes, taking into account the individual, gender-related and age-related characteristics of students;

• consultative assistance to all participants in the educational process on matters of teaching, upbringing of students, personal and professional development, etc.;

• work with victims of violence, etc.

2.4. The practical psychologist of the Separate Structural Subdivision “OTPC ONAFT” takes part in:

• educational activities aimed at ensuring the comprehensive development of students of higher education as individuals and as the highest value of society, their talents and their intellectual, creative and physical abilities, at forming values and the competences needed for successful self-fulfilment, and at bringing up responsible citizens who are capable of making conscious social choices and of directing their activities for the benefit of other people and society;

• the work of the Pedagogical Council, the administrative council, psychological and pedagogical consultations, seminars and meetings of methodological associations;

• the development and implementation of developmental and correctional programmes, manuals, methodological recommendations and educational activity plans, taking into account the individual, gender-related and age-related characteristics of students.

2.5. The practical psychologist of the Separate Structural Subdivision “OTPC ONAFT” promotes:

• the formation in students of responsible and safe behaviour in risk situations, of healthy lifestyle skills, of the preservation of reproductive health and of readiness for self-fulfilment;

• the profile-related and professional self-determination of students and the formation of life competence;

• the formation of social and communicative competence;

• the prevention of professional burnout among teaching staff;

• the formation of the psychological readiness of participants in the educational process to interact in an inclusive environment with a child with special educational needs;

• the formation of the psychological culture of participants in the educational process;

• the prevention of any types and forms of violence and of conflicts among students;

• the formation of a caring attitude of students towards children who have suffered, and an awareness of the need to inform teachers without delay about cases of domestic violence and conflicts among students that have become known to them.

2.6. The attestation of the practical psychologist in the education system is carried out in accordance with the current legislation.

III. Main Tasks, Principles and Functions of the Psychological Service

3.1. Tasks of the psychological service:

• preserving and strengthening mental and social health and promoting the personal, intellectual, physical and social development of students by supplementing modern teaching and upbringing methods with effective psychological and pedagogical technologies;

• helping to ensure psychological safety and providing psychological and social-pedagogical assistance to all participants in the educational process.

3.2. The principles of activity of the psychological service are:

• scientific basis, integrity and continuity, professional competence and responsibility;

• an individual approach;

• accessibility of social-pedagogical and psychological services (assistance);

• interdisciplinarity, comprehensiveness and a systematic approach in carrying out professional activities;

• voluntariness;

• human-centredness and partnership;

• confidentiality;

• compliance with professional ethics.

3.3. Functions of the psychological service:

• diagnostic and prognostic – psychological and pedagogical study of the factors in the formation of personality and its individual development;

• organisational and methodological – determining the strategy, purpose and tasks, planning the activities of the psychological service and coordinating the interaction of participants in the educational process;

• correctional and developmental – a system of influences aimed at overcoming identified problems, difficulties, harmful habits, negative emotional states, etc. in students;

• carrying out psychological and pedagogical measures to eliminate deviations in psychophysical and intellectual development and behaviour and to overcome various forms of deviant behaviour;

• promoting the development of educational, intellectual, general, special and social abilities and forming motivation for educational activity in students;

• providing psychological and pedagogical assistance to students in order to adapt to the conditions of study and daily life;

• consultative – assistance in resolving problems related to the development, upbringing and education of, and the formation of psychological and social competence in, participants in the educational process;

• educational and preventive – disseminating psychological knowledge, identifying violations of a child’s rights, taking measures to overcome negative factors that affect the life support of a student, their moral and social development, and preventing and averting negative influences;

• social protection – providing social-pedagogical support to participants in the educational process who have found themselves in difficult life circumstances or in crisis situations (who have suffered from social, man-made or natural disasters, undergone serious illnesses, stress or relocation, or experienced violence, etc.); protecting the constitutional rights and status and the legitimate interests of students.

3.4. Areas of activity of the employees of the psychological service:

• diagnostics – identifying the causes of difficulties in learning, intellectual development and socio-psychological adaptation;

• studying and determining the individual characteristics of the dynamics of personality development, and potential opportunities in the educational process and in professional self-determination;

• prevention – timely prevention of deviations in the development and formation of personality and in interpersonal relationships, and avoidance of conflict situations in the educational process;

• correction – eliminating identified difficulties in the socio-psychological development of students, reducing the risks of problems with adaptation to the educational environment, of a tendency towards addictions and offences, and of various forms of deviant behaviour;

• educational activity – a form of active cooperation aimed at the improvement, development and formation of personality;

• counselling – a multifunctional type of individual and group work aimed at addressing the requests with which participants in the educational process approach the service;

• public relations – activity aimed at achieving mutual understanding and cooperation between individuals, teams, social groups, organisations and public administration bodies;

• enlightenment – forming the psychological and social competence of participants in the educational process.

3.5. The length of the working week and the work schedule of the practical psychologist are determined by the current legislation. The practical psychologist works both at the educational institution (psychological education, diagnostic, consultative and educational activity, processing of research results, etc.) and outside it (preparing to hold events, drawing up working documentation, planning, reporting, work in educational, methodological and scientific centres, public organisations, etc.).

3.6. The practical psychologist is provided with a separate working and teaching room (office) for group and individual work, equipped with the necessary technical equipment, stationery, teaching and methodological materials, etc.

3.7. An employee of the psychological service is obliged to:

• know the current legislation on the activities of the psychological service in the education system and other regulatory legal acts related to their activities;

• base their work on goodwill and trust, in close cooperation with all participants in the educational process;

• use in their work the psychological and sociological tools recommended for use;

• be competent and constantly enrich their knowledge within the limits of their competence;

• provide psychological assistance at the request of participants in the educational process;

• avoid any informal relationships with participants in the educational process;

• inform participants in the educational process about the results of the psychological examinations carried out, their significance and the possibilities for their further use (with the exception of personal information), and about their own activities, on the basis of objective and accurate data and in such a way as not to harm the profession;

• carry out individual diagnostics and correction at the request of participants in the educational process, having obtained the written consent of parents (legal representatives).

• use scientifically grounded methods and technologies of professional activity;

• respect the professional competence of their colleagues and of representatives of related professions;

• popularise socio-psychological knowledge;

• respect the dignity of students;

• perform their official duties within the limits of their authority;

• bear personal responsibility for the results and consequences of their professional activity;

• promote a healthy lifestyle and raise the level of psychological knowledge of teaching staff and parents (legal representatives);

• continuously improve their professional level;

• know the requirements of state standards on ensuring the educational process, the main directions and prospects for the development of education and of psychological and pedagogical science.

3.8. An employee of the psychological service has the right to:

• determine various types of work in view of the needs of the Separate Structural Subdivision “OTPC ONAFT”;

• plan their activities in accordance with the recommendations of the methodological institutions of the psychological service;

• familiarise themselves with documents and complaints containing an assessment of their work and provide explanations regarding them;

• protect their professional honour and dignity;

• carry out individual educational (scientific, creative, artistic, etc.) activity outside the educational institution;

• receive methodological assistance, improve their qualifications and retrain;

• freely choose educational programmes, forms of study, educational institutions, establishments and organisations and other subjects of educational activity that provide professional development and retraining for employees of the psychological service;

• refuse to carry out instructions of the head (Director) in cases where they conflict with professional and ethical principles, and to perform activities not provided for by the employment contract, official duties and work plan.

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