One Specialist Is Helping Displaced Children Heal From Invisible Wounds

Across the globe, regional conflicts have displaced families, forcing them to become refugees in other countries. According to UNICEF data, among these refugees, nearly 49 million are children. 

Refugee families often find it hard to rebuild their lives after losing their homes and means of making a living. Khrystyna Khachaturova, a psychologist and refugee from Ukraine, now lives and works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She focuses her career on helping families who have relocated to the area. As a trauma specialist, she aids refugees in healing from what she calls “invisible wounds.” She sees the reality of the UNICEF data in her work as a Wellness Liaison at Hello Neighbor, as she helps refugee children who are struggling to feel safe and secure in their new lives.

 “Even when families finally reach safety, their bodies and minds still respond as if danger is near,” says Khachaturova.

When Trauma Shows up in Behavior

In 2024, the United States admitted over 100,000 refugees from Afghanistan, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Venezuela. Children who have experienced a traumatic event struggle to verbally express their emotions and adapt to their new lives. The distress they suffered often manifests in sleep disturbances, regression in speech, explosive reactions, or emotional withdrawal, according to Khachaturova. 

Autistic children face even more challenges when it comes to expressing what they endured, and trauma specialists have to deal with the complexity of their situation. 

“A child can be autistic and traumatized at the same time. We must learn to distinguish what belongs to development and what belongs to trauma,” Khachaturova says.

Khachaturova uses play-based techniques to give children a safe space to express what they struggle to articulate. She has developed a technique that uses free play and psychoanalytic insight to help children process their emotions without being pressured to speak about their experiences. 

“When a child cannot speak about their experience, they show it. Play becomes their language,” Khachaturova says.

By creating a stable, predictable environment, Khachaturova allows children to gradually rebuild their trust in the world around them. She also works with the parents and teachers of the children to strengthen the child’s support network. 

A Pattern Across Borders

As a trauma specialist, Khachaturova has spent much of her career helping displaced families. Her career journey started in 2015 in Ukraine, working in psychotherapy. In the 2020s, she moved from her homeland and worked with refugee families in several different European countries using her integrative school-based technique to provide psychological assistance to the children.

Throughout her experiences in Europe, she noticed a common thread, no matter the country or background of the children of refugee families. 

“They feared loud sounds, sudden changes, or being separated from their parents. Their bodies reacted even when they were objectively safe,” Khachaturova says.

Khachaturova relocated to the United States, where she now lives in Pittsburgh and works at Hello Neighbor, a nonprofit based in the United States that helps refugees and immigrants adjust to living in their new communities. The organization supports families from a diverse range of backgrounds who have fled conflicts in their home countries. Most of these families have children under the age of 18. 

In her role at the organization, she uses her expertise in European psychoanalytic training and combines it with an American clinical mental health approach. Khachaturova assists families from Eastern Europe as they deal with the emotional challenges of starting over in a new country. She also helps her coworkers who support families that have relocated from the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Her own experience as a refugee allows her to connect with the families she works with on a deep personal level. 

Building Emotional Safety

The Ukrainian children that Khachaturova works with have had to deal with constant change throughout their journey to the United States. Many had to move through multiple countries before their families settled in Pittsburgh. Having dealt with so much change since leaving their home country, it is difficult for these children to trust adults, connect with other children, or regulate their complex emotions. 

In her role as a Wellness Liaison at Hello Neighbor, Khachaturova organizes community events and activities for families. She also coordinates wellness programs, connects families with mental health services, and provides psychoeducational resources. Her work includes giving guidance to caregivers to better understand how trauma affects the behavior of children.

“The first step is rebuilding safety. Not just physical safety, but emotional safety,” Khachaturova says.

Hello Neighbor was founded in 2017 and is committed to giving comprehensive support to thousands of families. Their assistance includes housing, employment services, healthcare access, and education assistance. Hello Neighbor is fulfilling a need for trauma-informed care as the global displacement crisis continues to grow. The number of people who have been forcibly displaced across the globe has doubled since the last decade, reaching a record 122 million. 

Psychologists like Khachaturova provide a critical link to refugee families between survival and the ability to build a new life in Pittsburgh. 

About Hello Neighbor:

Hello Neighbor, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit, provides resettlement support and post-arrival services to refugee and immigrant families, including housing assistance, employment programs, healthcare navigation, educational support, and mental health services.

Resources for refugee mental health support:

• National Child Traumatic Stress Network
• Refugee Health Technical Assistance Center
• Local refugee resettlement agencies can be found through the U.S. State Department

This article is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. If you are seeking medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider.