Introduction. Students with the social status of orphans have a preferential right to get a higher education. Due to accumulated emotional and social deficits, this contingent requires special support to ensure that they gain experience in constructively overcoming challenges in a university environment. The purpose of the work is the theoretical substantiation and empirical verification of the reflective practical training program as a means of developing constructive strategies for overcoming challenging life situations among students with the social status of orphans. Materials and methods. Orenburg State Pedagogical University was the base for the study. The study involved 76 respondents aged 18-22 years (54 girls and 22 boys). The sample included students with official orphan status. The following instruments were used to collect empirical data: Methods of Overcoming Negative Situations (MONS) by S.S. Goncharova, Coping Methods Questionnaire (WCQ adapted by R. Lazarus, S. Folkman) by T.L. Kryukova, E.V. Kuftyak, Life Style Index by L.I. Wasserman, O.F. Erysheva, E.B. Klubova. Research results. It was revealed that the repertoire of orphan students is characterized by the use of an unbalanced response to life challenges due to the predominance and high severity of overcoming destructive methods. Constructive strategies were found to be used much less frequently by this group of students. Their expressiveness was average. The effectiveness of formative influence in the format of a reflective workshop was experimentally tested. Changes in the severity of constructive and destructive coping methods in the experimental group were statistically confirmed, and significant differences were identified between the control and experimental groups, which gives grounds to consider the workshop program for orphan students to be effective. Conclusion. When developing strategies for overcoming challenging life situations among orphans, reflection is particularly important. It is necessary to reflect on the signs of difficulty, one's own abilities, the effectiveness of overcoming life's difficulties, the dependence on self-control, and the advantages of using constructive methods.