The effectiveness of the training program for medical psychologists of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in psychological assistance technologies: personal changes and the problem of dropping out of the study

Modern civilization is experiencing fundamental changes that affect all spheres of life and make the problem of preserving mental health as a basic resource of human vitality urgent. These challenges are most acutely manifested in the professional environment of employees of the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation, whose activities take place under conditions of a permanent stressful background and direct confrontation with traumatic events. A significant increase in these factors occurs when performing official tasks within the framework of a special military operation, which requires improving the system of medical and psychological rehabilitation of employees. The purpose of the study is to identify the content and direction of personal changes of medical psychologists of the medical units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the process of training in an additional professional development program aimed at mastering the technologies of psychological assistance. 120 medical psychologists from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs took part in the study. Valid pretest data were obtained from 117 respondents, and paired pretest and posttest data were obtained from 56 respondents. The following methods were used: scales of subjective vitality (Vt-s, Vt-d), test-questionnaire for the level of development of personality subjectivity by M.A. Shchukina, questionnaire of the structure of subjectivity E.N. Volkova, A.I. Seregina, Freiburg Personality Inventory (FPI). The interval between measurements was 14–16 days. Descriptive statistics, Shapiro–Wilk test, correlation analysis, paired Student's t-test and Wilcoxon test were used (p < 0.05). A statistically significant positive dynamics of subjective vitality (situational and dispositional) was revealed among respondents with initially reduced values, as well as an increase in indicators of subjectivity, reflecting activity, autonomy, integrity and self-worth. Among respondents with initially high scores, there was a tendency toward stabilization, which is interpreted as optimization of personal resources. Training in psychological assistance technologies acts as a factor in activating the internal resources of the individual. The results obtained substantiate the effectiveness of the developed program for the professional training of psychologists.