Themes by tag: psychological support

Olha had been working as a military psychologist from 2014 to 2018 when she resigned from service and together with her team started the Veteran Hub (a space that provides support to war veterans and their loved ones).

At the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Olha joined the ranks of the patrol police (just when the enemy was breaking through to the capital). Later, together with the police, she went to the territories of the Kyiv region liberated by the Ukrainian military, and helped local residents. And already in the summer of 2022, she joined the ranks of the Armed Forces, where she continues to work as a military psychologist. Olha was in Bakhmut and in the Zaporizhia sector. For now, she is in the capital.

Olha provides a full cycle of psychological support: selection, training, support during combat missions, crisis assistance, etc.

For reference: February 24, 2024 marks 2 years since the beginning of russia’s illegal full-scale invasion. The attack marked the culmination of the war of aggression, which the russian federation had been waging against Ukraine for 10 years at that point. This war began on February 20, 2014 when the russians invaded the territory of the Ukrainian Crimea without identification marks and occupied the peninsula. After that, russia started a war in the East of Ukraine. 

• military
• psychological support
• women
• Kyiv

The InNikos Canine Assisted Therapy Center has recently opened in Kyiv. A team of therapy dogs, dog handlers, psychologists, and a rehabilitation therapist help people improve their emotional well-being and physical health. The military personnel, families of defenders, IDPs, children who survived the occupation, and in general people affected by the war, are center clients. The Center provides free-of-charge sessions, and group and individual therapy is available. 

The center employs 9 therapy dogs: six have been trained and tested, and three more are in training. The oldest mixed-breed therapy dog (Labrador Retriever + German Shepherd) is 10-year-old Nika. The youngest dog in the center is a 5-month-old Belgian Malinois named Barcelona. She is still undergoing a training program, but she is already involved in classes, mostly with the military and children. 

The organizers plan to launch a similar canine therapy project in 4 more cities.

• animals
• casualties
• psychological support
• Kyiv

The Family Art Retreat Project will be held in Lviv from January 6 to 12. Its development process was influenced by the input of experienced professionals from Ukraine and the UK in order to allow children and adults to try their hand at different types of creativity and generate healing through art. 

The project involved 20 IDP children aged 9 to 16 and their families. Participation is free of charge.

The project includes using improv techniques for children, such as acting, music therapy, and dance and movement therapy. Training sessions, self-help lectures, and the use of art practices to support children are available for adults. The program will also include open lectures on psychotherapy and music therapy.

Among the project’s presenters is Nigel Osborne, a British composer, art therapist, and specialist in music and art therapies that positively benefit children traumatized by military conflicts.

For reference: The project is delivered by the “ART DOT” NGO (Kharkiv, Ukraine) in partnership with the Street Culture NGO with the financial support of the Razom Foundation and the “Culture Helps” program, which is implemented by Insha Osvita in cooperation with zusa with the EU support.

• casualties
• children
• culture
• psychological support
• Lviv

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Eleos-Ukraine NGO has taken up the task to equip shelters for internally displaced persons. In 2023, Eleos-Ukraine team decided to create a Day Support Center in Chernihiv, so that everyone could receive both physical and psychological support. The day center “St. Olga’s Women’s Hub” will open its doors on January 15. Psychological training and physical rehabilitation, in particular yoga, will be organized here for local residents and IDPs. In addition, the Center will offer employment consultations. An educator will also work in the hub, so that mothers attending classes at the Center could leave their children with them.

• casualties
• psychological support
• Chernihiv

The Dobrodiy Club Charitable Foundation invites news publishers to the opening ceremony of the ‘Place of Power’ free space that supports war-affected children and teenagers. The event will take place in Kyiv on December 21.

The space is a 240 m², three-story facility with a shelter. There are separate creativity zones, lectures and training, counseling, and interaction with a psychologist (for a child to learn to work through stress and transitions, communicate in a community, and develop resilience mechanisms). Place of Power space is committed to open its doors to 75,000 teenagers annually. 

The event will feature “(Already) adult discussion: What keeps your mentality alive?” – a dialogue with Ukrainian teenagers, and “My Identity” art collage workshop. 

The first visitors to the space will share their own stories of finding support and encouragement, as well as advice and life hacks for their peers.

Prior event accreditation is required. 

• children
• psychological support
• Kyiv

The ShchukaRyba band, DJ Chocollab, and children will host a charity concert featuring Ukrainian traditional songs and Christmas Carols in Kyiv on December 14. 

All funds raised will be used to provide psychological assistance to children affected by the war. The concert will showcase compositions created by teenagers in collaboration with the musicians.

This charitable event will serve as the culmination of the “Sound Lab” course conducted by the “Voices of Children” Foundation for teenagers. For several months, 15 teenagers from different regions, each with different war experiences, participated in a course covering traditional singing and electronic music, led by the folk group “ShchukaRyba” and DJ Chocollab. Together with the foundation’s psychologist, the children used music to live through their war experiences, traumatic memories, emotions, and feelings. Music can have a powerful therapeutic effect during times of war. 

• casualties
• children
• psychological support
• Kyiv

On November 22, Kyiv will host a press conference and the launch of the social information campaign “Do you hear what this is about?”.

Nearly 1 in 2 children do not talk to his or her parents about experiencing difficult emotions and handling feelings related to the war. That’s evidenced by the U-Report platform and the Voices of Children Foundation survey. Why don’t children feel free to share problems with their parents how this can be prevented will be discussed at a press conference by the Voices of Children Foundation.

In addition, to help parents hear their children out when they talk about the war, the Voices of Children Foundation is launching a public education campaign, “Do you hear what it’s about?”. It will be held across the country’s 13 Oblasts.

The campaign’s uniqueness lies in its stories based on true life events and statements of 7 children who agreed to participate. These brave kiddos will tell Ukrainians how the war has changed them and what kind of support they expect from their parents.

Speakers:

– Olena Rozvadovska, Chairman of the Board and Co-founder of the Voices of Children Charitable Foundation;

– Yaroslava Katolyk, Communications Manager of the UNICEF U-Report Ukraine project

– Victoriia Solomenko, a 17-year-old, “Do you hear what it’s about?” participant. 

Event registration is required. 

• casualties
• children
• psychological support
• Kyiv

Olena Rozvadovska, co-founder of the Children’s Voices Foundation is on the BBC 100 Women list. The project recognizes the achievements of women around the world and in all spheres of life – from volunteering to running international organizations. 

A 27-year-old Olena took up the position of press secretary at The Office of the Commissioner for Children’s Rights of the President of Ukraine. In this role, she became deeply involved in human rights activities and learned more about the problems children face. This was followed by 5 years of volunteering in Donbas, the founding of the Voices of Children charity foundation, and the growth of the team from 2 employees to 200 people. 

The Voices of Children Foundation provides psychological and psychosocial assistance to children and war-affected families.

Read more on Olena’s biography here.

For reference: This year, the BBC 100 Women has included two more Ukrainians, Oksana Zabuzhko and Iryna Stavchuk, in its list. Apart from the Ukrainians, 27 global climate activists made the list. Other inspiring women on this year’s list include Michelle Obama, a lawyer and former first lady of the United States, and Amal Clooney, a human rights barrister.

• children
• psychological support
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

Since the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion into Ukraine, Fight For Right NGO has gone on more than 1,500 evacuation trips (including medical evacuations by ambulances). They transported people with disabilities and their family members away from hostilities.

Evacuation is carried out mostly from areas near the front line. One of the biggest difficulties is that sometimes it is very hard for people to find courage to leave their homes, even when it is dangerous to stay there.

The organization also provides psychological assistance, particularly, individual consultations for people with disabilities and for mothers of children with disabilities.

In addition, psychological support groups for IDP women with disabilities are currently operating in Dnipro. The organization plans to create such groups in other cities as well. First of all, in Kyiv.

By prior agreement, journalists are welcome to cover the evacuation process or the work of the organization on psychological support for people.  

• casualties
• psychological support
• evacuation

“Recover together. Psychological issue of military rehabilitation” information seminar aims to bring together key participants in the rehabilitation process for a professional discussion on the psychological aspects of multidisciplinary rehabilitation teams and their interaction with patients in the military.

Event participants:

• Viktor Liashko, Minister of Healthcare of Ukraine,
• Vasyl Strilka, Director General of the Directorate of High-Tech Medical Care and Innovation of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine,
• Masi Nayyem, Co-Founder of Human Rights Center for Military Personnel “Principle”,
• Yulia (Taira) Paievska, paramedic, volunteer,
• Kseniia Voznitsyna, Chief Doctor of Lisova Poliana Veterans Mental Health and Rehabilitation Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine,
• Hlib Stryzhko, marine, veteran, head of the Veteran Hub in Kyiv.

Prior accreditation is required to attend the event. 

• psychological support
• Kyiv