Yuriy Nesterko

Dr. Yuriy Nesterko serves as a Research Associate on third-party funded projects within the Department of Clinical-Psychological Intervention at Freie Universität Berlin's Department of Education and Psychology. His work focuses on refugee mental health, trauma, and migration-related psychological challenges with significant contributions to digital mental health interventions for displaced populations.

His research spans refugee mental health, particularly among Arabic-speaking populations and LGBTQ+ refugees, examining trauma exposure, sexual violence, and culturally adapted interventions. Nesterko investigates intergenerational trauma in Holocaust survivor descendants and racism in therapeutic contexts, addressing critical gaps in culturally sensitive care. His methodological expertise includes digital mental health interventions, psychometric validation of trauma measures across cultures, and epidemiological studies of refugee populations.

Nesterko's publication analysis reveals strong emphasis on cross-cultural adaptation of mental health services, with significant focus on Arabic-speaking regions and German refugee populations. His work demonstrates consistent integration of digital interventions with traditional therapeutic approaches, particularly for PTSD and depression in displaced communities. Recent publications show growing attention to vulnerable subgroups including male sexual violence survivors, LGBTQ+ refugees, and second-generation trauma effects.

Nesterko collaborates extensively with Prof. Christine Knaevelsrud's team and H. Glaesmer on multiple projects including I-REACH (Internet-based Refugee Mental Health Care) and STRENGTHS (Scaling up psychological interventions with Syrian refugees). His work appears in leading journals such as Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, Journal of Affective Disorders, and European Journal of Psychotraumatology.

His research portfolio includes substantial work on mental health assessment in migration contexts, culturally adapted diagnostics, and barriers to care for refugees. Current projects focus on digital phenotyping, wearables, and machine learning applications in refugee mental health through the PREACT-digital initiative.