On February 28 – March 1, the thirteenth psychological workshop was held in Hamburg as part of the project “Psychological Support for Victims of War in Ukraine.”

The project team — a married couple of physicians and Russian political émigrés, Alexander and Galina Goncharenko, together with Ukrainian psychologists — organized the event.

The aim of the workshops is to provide psychological assistance to Ukrainian women who have experienced the trauma of war, including support in overcoming post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and difficulties related to adaptation in a new country.

The guest speaker of the workshop was psychologist Natalia Stepanenko.

The seminar took place at the facilities of Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB) with the support of its director, Günter Arndt, as well as Martina Baeurle, Managing Director of the Hamburg Foundation for the Politically Persecuted Persons.

The first day focused on psychological trauma related to the war, the loss of loved ones, and forced displacement from Ukraine. The second day was dedicated to practical psychological techniques aimed at reducing PTSD symptoms and addressing refugee adaptation syndrome.

Over the course of thirteen workshops, psychological assistance has been provided to 162 Ukrainian women, including 31 repeat participants.

Photo captions:

1. Group photo of participants of the 13th workshop
2. Opening remarks by Alexander Goncharenko
3. Psychologist Natalia Stepanenko
4. Beginning of the workshop: “State of the Soul on Paper” exercise
5. Symbolic appeal to the sky for support
6. “We Think” technique
7. Pair work session
8. “Stream” method
9. Lunch on the first day — homemade-style meal
10. Communication-building technique through making requests
11. Creative group work
12. Art practice for discovering inner resources
13. Lunch on the second day — traditional Ukrainian varenyky
14. NLP technique: working with fear in open spaces
15. NLP method: working with fear in enclosed spaces
16. Meditation practice “Cleansing in Three Waters”: restoring a sense of safety

On December 6–7, the twelfth psychological seminar-training for Ukrainian women refugees took place in Germany. The event was organized as part of the project “Psychological Support for Victims of the War in Ukraine”, implemented by the married couple of doctors and Russian political exiles Alexander and Galina Goncharenko in cooperation with Ukrainian psychologists.

The program aims to provide professional psychological assistance to Ukrainian women who have experienced the impacts of war, as well as to support them in overcoming post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and challenges related to refugee adaptation.

The two-day seminar-training was led by psychologist Alla Danilich. Women from six regions of Ukraine took part in the event — Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Luhansk, Sumy, and Kharkiv.

The seminar took place in Hamburg at the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB) and was supported by branch director Günter Arndt and Martina Baeurle, Managing Director of the Hamburg Foundation for Politically Persecuted Persons.

The first day focused on introducing the participants, learning their personal stories, and discussing theoretical foundations for working with traumatic experiences. The second day was dedicated to practicing various psychological self-help techniques aimed at restoring inner resources, stabilizing emotional well-being, and strengthening the sense of safety.

Over the course of the twelve seminar-trainings, a total of 149 Ukrainian women received psychological assistance, including 28 women who attended more than once.

Photos:

1. Group photo of the seminar-training
2. At the beginning of the two-day seminar
3. Alexander Goncharenko, Project Leader
4. Psychologist Alla Danilich
5. Lunch as a “psychological method” of gaining energy
6. Technique “The Barrel”
7. Technique “The Rain”
8. Technique “Brushes and Glass”
9. Laughter therapy
10. Technique “The Stream of Support”
11. Working on the final technique of the second day
12. This is not creativity — this is a state of soul
13. Beauty will save the world!
14. Method using candlelight