| SPEAKERS
Member in the European Parliament, Patron of Symposium, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Denmark
VILLY SOVNDAL
“Ukraine, we stand by your side!”
It is so important that we Europeans make sure that Ukraine pulls out victorious from the Russian war of aggression. We must form a united front against Russian aggression.
Putin has put himself at the head of an aggressive regime that is nullifying international law. Bombs and missiles are raining down on the Ukrainian population. It is an everyday life and a reality that creates massive stress, especially for women and children who are left behind from the front line to ensure that the wheels of society do not come to a standstill.
We cannot just stand by while this violent assault takes place. Of course, we must act in accordance with international law, but we cannot avoid the fact that we share a common destiny.
If we do not send a clear message to Putin and draw a line in Ukraine, I do not think he will stop there. I believe that we are facing a crucial point in the history of the merciless war of aggression that Russia is now engaged in for almost three years.
Therefore, we can and must do more to help Ukraine.
Villy Sovndal is a Member in the European Parliament, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Denmark. He had decided to give official patronage of the UUAP and EAP Sixth Joint Symposium, and will give an address in the morning session.
Veteran Contract Soldier
MARYNA LANIVSKA
Lecture "The Psycho-Emotional Demands on Women in the Army"
All my plans for my life, career and family were destroyed. All of this was put away in a small suitcase with an inscription “For Later”. I was gaining new experiences and plunging headlong into a new universe where there was no security, no happy future, and no confidence that everything will be fine. There was only belief in myself and my strength, hope and hard work, that could bring me the desired security an the longed for prosperity in the future. I chose to be honest with myself and my family. I consciously made the choice to take off my rose-coloured glasses and see clearly what was happening.
War is a terrible uncontrollable occurrence, where I often feel like a grain of sand in a vast desert, carried by a storm to an unknown land. I often see myself as that small grain of sand that is in capable of doing anything. But despite everything I have gained a lot of valuable insights during the war and leaned what seems to be the most important thing : To appreciate life; to take time to take care of my health both physical and mental.
Psychotherapist, Clinical Psychologist
OLHA LYPKO
Lecture "A Woman on the Road"
The issue of migration is always shrouded in debate and polarity of views. Especially when it comes to migration in times of war. Who is she, a migrant woman: a heroine or a traitor? What does she look like and what does she believe in; what challenges does she face. In 2022, many Ukrainian women went abroad for the first time in their lives. For the first time they bought tickets not for a planned holiday, but for a one-way trip.
When you decide to take this step, it seems that you have taken everything into account, and even imagine possible difficulties, prepare for them, and even enlist the support of others. But life makes its own adjustments from time to time. And you start from scratch, learn patience and acceptance, acquire a new profession, try to master a foreign language, and most importantly, you fight every day with your feelings of loneliness and guilt, nostalgia, and culture shock. War is always dualistic, it polarises everything - from society as a whole to your own inner aspirations. And it happens that when you leave home, you suddenly lose all your important connections, you cannot fully settle down in a new place, but you no feel like you are ‘one of us’ when you return.
Olha Lypko, Psychotherapist, Clinical Psychologist and member of the WAPP, UAPP and the Nomada Association who work with refugees. For seven years Olga worked with military personnel, veterans and their families. Since 2022 she has been working with refugees and migrants. She crossed the border herself three times a s a refugee – twice to Poland and once to the USA. Now she is working with women in Poland fleeing from the war.
Psychotherapist, Psychologist
VALERIA PRYHOZHYNA
Lecture "Women's Path Through War: Legacy of Strength or Challenges of Modernity"
I will explore the experience that a modern woman faces in the realities of the war in Ukraine. On the one hand, this experience is something new that needs to be mastered and included in the picture of the world anew. On the other hand, this experience permeates the entire Ukrainian history, and many generations of Ukrainians have encountered it in their lives and passed it on to their descendants.
This is an experience of indomitability, struggle and strength, but also loss, grief, devastation, sadness. Reality is pressing all the time and requires quick and difficult decisions. The ability to acquire new knowledge becomes crucial. It used to take years, now it can be days and months. The amount of information that needs to be constantly monitored is impressive. The number of tasks is extremely high. The need to combine many roles in conditions of constant stress often leads to depression, burnout, and other complex consequences.
Valeria Pryhozhyna, Psychotherapist, Psychologist, Head of the Personality-Centered Therapy section of the UUAP. Co-founder of the NGO "Crisis Psychological Assistance in Dnipro and Dnipropetrovsk Region".
Associate Professor of psychology
KAREN-INGE KARSTOFT
Lecture "Mental Health Among Women Ukrainian Refugees in Denmark"
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has driven millions of Ukrainians away from their homes. Among these, the majority have likely experienced war-related potentially traumatic events, and some will experience symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The aims of the study are to estimate the prevalence of PTSD and Complex PTSD (CPTSD) in displaced Ukrainians and examine associations between war- and other potentially traumatic exposures and (C)PTSD.
Research area:
(Complex) PTSD in Ukrainian refugees: Prevalence and association with acts of war in the Danish refugee cohort (DARECO). Journal of Affective Disorders, 2024-12 | Journal article. Contributors: K.-I. Karstoft; N. Korchakova; V.J. Koushede; T.A. Morton; A.A. Pedersen; S.A. Power; M.H. Thøgersen.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.08.170 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.08.170
Karen-Inge Karstoft, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen; Senior Researcher, Research and Knowledge Centre, Danish Veteran Centre.
Psychotherapist in the field of psychodrama
OLENA STUPAK
Doctor of Psychological Sciences
ANASTASIA SKLYARUK
Sociodramatic study "Transformation of Women's Roles during the War"
The creator of sociodrama as an experimental method of resolving group and social conflicts is Jacob Moreno (1889–1974). Moreno believed that sociodrama "opens the door to new cognitive and experimental possibilities of transformation, paving the way for the restructuring of society."
Sociodrama is a method of studying society, large social groups. The Psychodrama Section of the USP conducts sociodramatic research in order to monitor social attitudes and identify current psychosocial issues. Past research on the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion showed significant changes in psychosocial gender roles and functions. Therefore, the focus of our attention is to explore old and new roles among men and women.
At this Symposium, together with the participants, Olena Stupak and Professor Anastasia Sklyaruk will be happy to explore the psychosocial roles of women unfolding against the backdrop of the war and hear their main theses.
Olena Stupak, Registered Psychotherapist of the UAAP in the field of psychodrama, training therapist, supervisor of the UUAP. Head of the Psychodrama Section of the UUAP. Full member of the NGO "Ukrainian Association of Specialists in Overcoming the Consequences of Psychotraumatic Events".
Anastasia Sklyaruk, Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Professor of the Department of Practical Psychology of the Classic Private University, Registered Psychotherapist of the UUAP in the field of psychodrama.
Manager of projects in support to mental health professionals in exile, psychologist, psychotherapist
LENA GRIGORIEVA
Lecture "Women’s Leadership in the Times of War and Oppression: Perspective from Life and Practice in Exile"
In these times when men are at frontline (Ukraine) and/or in prison (Belarus) women have to take the leadership in family life, work and often even politics in order to keep going, following not only the survival needs but also the ideology shared together.
Mental health professional in exile is a special category of people: from one side they are professionals but from the other side they are women experiencing the same challenges the clients come with.
Lena Grigorieva while living in Belarus used to be a co-founder of Minsk Gestalt Institute, chair of national association of psychotherapists, leader of a number of projects in the field of professional training. Everything got closed down and she had to leave the country in an emergent situation. She lived in Lithuania, then Georgia and currently lives and practices in Poland. On all her migrant way she got connected to professionals in exile, received support from them and when she came to Poland, she was strong enough to start a number of activities supporting psychologists and psychotherapists in exile. Her personal story is an example of women’s leadership at large extent and she learns a lot from those stories brought up by clients from Ukraine and Belarus into her therapy on daily basis.
Lena Grigorieva, Director of New Gestalt Voices (UK), Gestalt Maverick Group (Europe), trainer at Lodzka Szkola Gestalt (Poland), member of EAGT Human Rights and Social Responsibility Committee, member of IAAGT Regional Development Funding Committee, manager of projects in support to mental health professionals in exile.
