From the author: Proceedings of the international scientific and practical conference "Current problems of legal and extreme psychology", April 22-23, 2011, Makeevka, Ukraine THE USE OF METAPHORICAL CARDS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL CRISIS HELP Gorobchenko A.E. ., Women's Institute "ENVILA", senior lecturer Negative life events are considered in psychology as incidents, incidents that disrupt the normal course of life and are the cause of physical and psychological suffering. If the event turns out to be unexpected, violent, traumatic and life-threatening, then it is defined as a traumatic event. Situations that are beyond control and pose a sudden, massive, unexpected threat to human life are called crises. Crisis situations are considered the most complex form of stressor, as they carry a connotation of emergency, threat and the need for immediate action [1]. To cope with unfavorable life events, a person needs resources, primarily psychological, as internal sources of overcoming these events. The presence of resources for coping with crisis situations provides an adaptive function, gives confidence, and supports a person’s self-identity. Resources are everything that a person uses to satisfy the demands of the environment (psychological and social resources). The success of overcoming negative life events directly depends on the repertoire, nature and degree of use of available and available resources. Psychological crisis assistance from specialists is an example of a social resource that is aimed at creating conditions for the recovery and rehabilitation of survivors of a crisis event, and the disclosure of their own psychological resources. Psychological crisis assistance and support programs are aimed at: - normalization of the state and well-being; - “processing” (understanding of one’s own unique meaning of the situation being experienced); - awareness of the traumatic event, one’s own reactions and symptoms; - cognitive organization of the experience; - mobilization of internal and external resources ;- identification of means of further assistance. One of the effective tools used by specialists in helping activities are metaphorical maps. In professional circles, the cards are known under different names: “O-cards”, “projective cards”, “therapeutic cards”, etc. Thanks to the psychotherapist and publisher Moritz Egetmeyer and his publishing house “ON Verlag”, the cards have spread throughout the world as a quality projective tool, used in various areas of psychological assistance, in the medical practice of overcoming the consequences of crises and traumas. The first deck of cards was created in 1975 by Eli Raman, a Canadian professor of art history. The deck of cards was called "OH" (an English interjection meaning surprise). Psychotherapists have developed rules and principles for using cards as a psychological tool with which they could create conditions for a client to openly talk about himself and his problems. Today, practical psychologists use 17 decks of metaphorical cards from the publishing house “OH Verlag”: “OH”, “COPE”, “PERSONA”, “PERSONITA”, “HABITAT”, “MYTHOS”, “SAGA”, “SHEN HUA”, “1001” , “QUISINE”, “MORENA”, “LYDIA JACOB STORY”, “TAHITI”, “BOSCH”, “ECCO”, “BEAUREGARD”, “CLARO” [4]. Cards “COPE” (Overcoming) are used as one of the creative means of healing that can be used in combination with other existing methods. This deck of cards is the project of three specialists - publisher and psychotherapist Moritz Egetmeyer (Germany), artist Marina Lukyanova (Russia) and world-famous psychologist Dr. Ofra Ayalon (Israel). The creative collaboration of these three specialists brought together the cultural heritage of threecountries that have been severely affected by traumatic events over the past hundred years. The use of COPE cards as a crisis assistance tool is based on the approach of M. Laad and O. Ayalon, based on six dimensions that describe how a person overcomes a crisis event. This multimodal approach examines a model consisting of six types of “healing resources” and called BASIC Ph [3]: Belief. Emotional Affect. Social. Imaginative. Cognitive. .Physical.L.A. The parchment worker in the article “In Search of the Psychological Code of Survival” indicates that the combination of the above elements determines the survival style of each person. A human reaction can occur in more than one of these dimensions. In principle, a person can use all six resources, or develop his own configuration, his own “survival code” [2]. In the “COPE” deck of cards there are 6 cards with images of hands that symbolize 6 dimensions (“healing resources”), since the crisis is considered by the authors as a phenomenon that includes both a threat and opportunities for healing, which are in the hands of each person. The remaining 82 cards symbolically and metaphorically personify traumatic events and emotional reactions to them, offering alongside them images of relief, calm, confidence and healing. The authors of the COPE cards identify four basic principles underlying the creation of cards: 1. The principle of normalization. The effectiveness of COPE cards stems from the assumption that psychological trauma is a reaction to shocks that can happen to any person everywhere. All reactions to trauma are considered normal ways of coping with a crisis. We need to recognize that each person has unique types of reactions to crisis events. These reactions are inherent in everyone, just like their fingerprints. Focusing on the crisis rather than the illness allows COPE cards to move forward without emphasizing the negative consequences of the trauma.2. The principle of mastering the skill of self-control. Facing crisis, traumatic events, as a rule, leads to a loss of self-worth. Therefore, the process of therapy using COPE cards should be collaborative: working to overcome crisis events is a joint journey, where only the general direction is known, and where, when encountering each new obstacle or obstacle, one must be ready to find new ways. Healing communication and cooperation lead to mutual trust, increased self-esteem and self-confidence.3. The principle of self-expression. Working on oneself, whether through reacting with grief or fear, expressing one's feelings about traumatic images through a story or communication with others, developing one's value system, or turning to humor, are all approaches that promote healing. The therapist using COPE cards needs to encourage all of these components of the healing process, as he is a guide and coach, revealing to the client or group members new approaches and skills that have been latent.4. The principle of creating a personal theory of healing. A personal story, presented with the help of COPE cards, creates its own symbolic and metaphorical space in which reconciliation with past events can take place and new feelings of optimism and confidence in the future arise. An example of the practical application of COPE cards is the following technique aimed at to study the usual ways of overcoming a crisis event and identifying those methods of overcoming that are blocked in a crisis situation. Methodology “Crisis = Threat + Chance” What resources are needed in difficult situations and how to make them available when they are needed?1. Lay out 6 cards with your hands on the table.