UKRAINIAN AND EUROPEAN PSYCHOTHERAPY ALLIANCE NINTH SYMPOSIUM

Please note. The event time here is listed in Ukraine time zone (EET, GMT+2, UTC+2). If you will be joining remotely from a different time zone, please kindly take this into consideration. For instance, if you are in the Central European Time zone (CET), the event will begin at 9:30 AM your local time.

Our Ninth Symposium, organised by the Ukrainian and European Psychotherapy Alliance, will focus on the theme “Anger, Humour, Connection and Love.” These four elements of human experience are all so important for Ukrainians to pay attention to as they cope with the full-scale war, which has lasted for almost four years.

We will begin with a whole group session of Narrative Systemic Therapy conducted by two Systemic Family Therapists from Ukraine – Olena Stupak and Olena Dobrodnyk.  We will all have the opportunity to share our experiences of anger, humour, connection and love and a reflecting team will respond.  This will be a powerful and moving beginning to our Symposium.

Our speakers for the Ninth Symposium, who are all giving their time and expertise for free, are:

► Professor Mirjana Mavrak from the University of Sarajevo, exploring the importance of humour during times of war.

► Oleh Gukovsky and Anatoly Gargaun, two Ukrainian Psychotherapists who are currently serving their country at Ground Zero on the frontline of the war in Ukraine. We are incredibly privileged that they will speak to the Symposium about their experience.

► Lyudmyla Kolisnyk from Aarhus University, Denmark, and Vibeke Lubanski from the Danish Psychotherapy Association, who are conducting research based on the retreats which EAP is organising for Ukrainian Psychotherapists.

There will be small group discussions, and a Round Table for questions to all the speakers at the end of the Symposium.

We cordially invite all European Psychotherapists to join with Ukrainian Psychotherapists in this Ninth Symposium on Friday November 14th.  These Symposiums are one part of EAP’s support for Ukraine during the full-scale war.

The idea of the Symposiums has proved to be visionary and highly successful, with more than 1000 Psychotherapists registering for each of the Symposiums we have held so far.  The feedback has been incredibly positive, and it seems that the Symposiums are helping empower Ukrainian Psychotherapist’s resilience.  It is vital for our Ukrainian colleagues that they have the opportunity to be connected with, and in relationship with, colleagues from other European countries as they face their challenging lives in the present, and prepare for their future.

We welcome you!

Patricia Hunt FRSA

Chair of the Ukrainian and European Psychotherapy Alliance

Former President of the European Association for Psychotherapy

patricia.hunt@europsyche.org

REGISTRATION AND PARTICIPATION

Please fill in the registration form here if you wish to participate.

Please use this link to view all speakers.

Download the schedule: Ukrainian | English.

The Symposium will be held remotely on Friday November 14th 2025 by the "Zoom" platform. Please add the "Zoom" application to your computer, smartphone, or tablet (https://zoom.us/download).

The Symposium will be conducted in Ukrainian and English, with simultaneous translation of presentations.

The event is free for psychotherapists. Registration is mandatory. Only registered participants will be able to participate in the Symposium.

Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions by text and voice, participate in whole-group session and small-group discussions, and join a round table discussion with their cameras and microphones turned on (if desired).

Certificates of attendance for 6 hours of professional development will be sent to all Symposium participants along with video recordings and lecture slides.

CONTACT US FOR ANY QUESTIONS

Write us in English or Ukrainian to info@uasymposium.online

• Call us from the European Union or if you want to speak English:

  00 370 686 96520

• Call us from Ukraine or if you want to speak Ukrainian:

  00 380 977 667526

VIDEO RECORDINGS OF ALL PREVIOUS SYMPOSIA

The Eighth Symposium was held on June 13th 2025. The theme for the Eighth Symposium was “In Search of Truth and Humanity in Our Time.” This Symposium included  a Large therapy group for the participants, conducted by Professor Eugenijus Laurinaitis (European Association for  Psychotherapy) and Professor Roman Kechur (Ukrainian Umbrella Association of Psychotherapy). It was focused on the theme “In Search of Truth and Humanity”. It was impactful, significant, and compassionate. We are very honoured that the Patron for this Symposium was Łukasz Műldner-Nieckowski, National Consultant for Psychotherapy in Poland. We are delighted to be joined and supported by the Polish expert team under National Consultant for Psychotherapy in Poland (in partnership with leading psychotherapeutic organisations from Poland).

Please use this link to view the video recordings of the Eighth Symposium.

The Seventh Symposium was held on January 21st 2025. The theme for the Seventh Symposium was “Times of War and Uncertainty: Mental Exhaustion, Loss, Grief, and Positive Developments in Psychotherapy.” This Symposium included a Large therapy group for the participants, conducted by Professor Eugenijus Laurinaitis (European Association for  Psychotherapy) and Professor Roman Kechur (Ukrainian Umbrella Association of Psychotherapy), to explore the impacts of war. It was a powerful moment. The Seventh Symposium reached nearly 700 participants from more than 35 countries.

Please use this link to view the video recordings of the Seventh Symposium.

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The Sixth Symposium was held on November 15th 2024. The theme for the Sixth Symposium was “The Role of Women in the Time of War.” This Symposium included a Sociodrama, which was conducted by two experts in the field of Sociodrama in Ukraine – Olena Stupak and Anastasia Sklyaruk. We are delighted to be joined and supported by the Danish Council for Psychotherapy for this Symposium.

Please use this link to view the video recordings of the Sixth Symposium.

The Fifth Symposium, that was held on June 14th 2024, created extremely wide connections! More than 1200 delegates registered for the Symposium from Ukraine, from all over Europe, from the USA, Canada, South Africa, Thailand and Indonesia, and the Symposium was connected remotely with an important Democracy event taking place in Denmark. The Romanian Federation of Psychotherapy helped to host this Symposium. We are very thankful to their President Mara Priceputu and her senior colleagues for working closely with us, and for their generous collegial and financial support.

Please use this link to view the video recordings of the Fifth Symposium.

The Fourth Symposium was held on February 23rd 2024 and reached more than 600 participants from 31 countries. The theme for the Fourth Symposium, marking the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion, was “The Tragedy of Childhood in the Time of War.”

Please use this link to view the video recordings of the Fourth Symposium.

The Third Symposium was held on November 17th 2023 and reached nearly 700 participants. The event was extraordinary, the participants thanked each speaker, shared their emotions, and the round table discussion was very vibrant and special, probably could have continued for at least few more hours.

Please use this link to view the video recordings of the Third Symposium.

The Second Symposium was held on June 16th 2023 and reached nearly 1500 registrations. The focus of the Second Symposium was the examination and discussion about the new challenges for psychotherapists in extreme situations and how the patients/clients are affected when the psychotherapist is in an exposed situation.

Please use this link to view the video recordings of the Second Symposium.

The First Symposium was held on February 23rd 2023 to mark the anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It was a moving, extraordinary, and wonderful event, and more than 1000 Psychotherapists registered to join it.

Please use this link to view the video recordings of the First Symposium.