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Fairy Tale Therapy by Doctor Joy

Realized 19.11.2018 - 31.12.2018

22 080 UAH

Fairy Tale Therapy From Doctor Joy project is aimed at improving emotional state of children and their parents (guardians) in the hospital department of medical institutions by telling funny and kind fairy tales. Fairy performances in medical institutions and rehabilitation centres are organized by future psychologists specialising in clinical psychology and who are volunteers of Doctor Joy project.

They visit children in various hospital departments dressed in funny costumes of fairy tales creatures and animated characters and hold entertainment events with them. Such events take place every week in the afternoon, when all the medical procedures are finished. Fairy performances have therapeutic effect not only due to their positive emotions, but also because of the content as they help children to overcome their most common fears in hospitals.

Games during the performances are selected depending on the age and department, where children get treatment. Doctors Joy always give small hand-made presents to children, such as balloons, clown noses and so on for goodbye.

Such a presentation of fairy tales has been tested by volunteer students in the work with children in the Regional Children's Clinical Hospital. It should be noted that about 50 to 60 gifts are needed for one visit, as volunteers go to different departments. In addition to that, conversations on the topic of mental and physical health and psychological state are held for older kids.

For seriously ill children and those who are in infectious departments and who cannot visit the playroom, it would be advisable to read fairy tales by adults from the brochure or from the website of Doctor Joy project, which is planned to be created.

Volunteers who work with children do not get remuneration for it. Mostly, they are sophomore to senior students with Psychology major of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University. Volunteers of “Fairy Tale Therapy from Doctor Joy” visited the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Children's Clinical Hospital 28 times, visited Dobrodiia Kaluzka Centre for Social Rehabilitation of Disabled Children and visited secondary schools in Ivano-Frankivsk two times. They presented children over 1,400 hand-made talismans, clown noses and colourful balloons. In addition to that, three meetings at the Volunteer School of the Project were held.

Participants of Doctor Joy project during the time of its existence comprise about 150 people who made gifts for sick children by themselves (good-luck cards, Christmas tree decorations, wool toys, etc.), and 60 volunteers who visited patients twice or more times in children's hospitals of Ivano-Frankivsk. Over three years (since February 2015) more than 100 visits to ill children were held.

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