Psychological analysis of extreme situations in the professional activity of the employees of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine

Abstract

The specifics of professional activity of the employees of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine (SPS of Ukraine) have been revealed. It has been noted that specific features of professional activity of the employees of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine are due to: specific conditions of official activity; shortcomings in the organization of official activities; the presence of risk; constant communication with convicts; the occurrence of negative personal changes of employees; the presence of conflict interaction between the various services of penitentiary institutions.
 The extreme situations that arise in this activity and psychological consequences of the activity of the employees of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine in special conditions have been characterized. The author has distinguished the following types of extreme situations: transitive; ongoing; with the element of uncertainty; those that need readiness for extreme actions; those that simultaneously include unexpectedness and lack of time; with the receipt of false information; dominant state; critical situations. The stress-factors affecting the employees of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine in extreme situations of professional activity have been provided. Psychological consequences of the activity of the employees of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine in extreme conditions of professional activity include: the state of anxiety associated with manifestations of psycho-somatic illness; the state of fatigue that is manifested in the impossibility of performing professional activity; cases of “shock”, the emergence of which is associated with emergency situations; asocial behavior, which is manifested in the inflexibility or, vice versa, in the employee’s oppression.
 The directions of professional and psychological training of the employees of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine have been substantiated. The development and implementation of an integral program of psychological support for the development of the ability to cope with stress and self-regulation among the employees of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine has been offered.