An Initial Christian Counselor Internship Program for Ukraine (Report‪)‬

A few initial efforts aimed at encouraging Christian counselor training outside the west have been emerging recently. However, there is no systematized plan for guiding or coordinating such efforts. This article describes a pilot program in Kyiv, Ukraine, which provided a two-year internship program in Christian counseling for recent master's level counselor graduates. The author reviews psychology training in the former Soviet Union, and post-Soviet Christian training programs. The article outlines the internship plans, supervision, supplementary training topics, as well as cultural and ethical issues encountered in Ukraine. Diverse cultures introduce different paths into professional identities & functions. In the Soviet education system, students studying clinical psychology experienced practicum and internship experiences much different from those in the west. This article describes an internship program developed in response to the need to prepare Christian counselors in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union (FSU).