Alina Malynovska, a Ukrainian art therapist and painter, draws on paper cups the faces of women participating in an art therapy workshop for Ukrainian refugees in Athens. © UNHCR/Socrates Baltagiannis
Katerina* is sitting around a table with other Ukrainian women using aluminium foil to create objects that have a special meaning for them. The women are united by their shared experience of fleeing a brutal war and have been invited to express their emotions and needs through an art therapy workshop at a Psychosocial Support Centre for Refugees in Athens. The workshop is part of a wider peer-to-peer psychosocial support programme for Ukrainian refugees, implemented in Greece, by the Association for Regional Development and Mental Health (EPAPSY), in partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
Katerina, the workshop organizer, explains the significance of helping people who have endured traumatic experiences, such as war: “In such situations, individuals often lose sight of their desires and become disengaged. The goal is to guide them towards self-reflection and understanding their own needs”.
This peer-to-peer psychosocial support programme aims to provide immediate relief for refugees from Ukraine. Additionally, it offers long-term benefits, by equipping participants with the tools to organize similar initiatives in their home country, when circumstances allow their return. Katerina believes that her compatriots will require psychological support as they eventually emerge from this highly stressful period and face the memories and psychological burden they have endured. Katerina herself experienced a similar psychological collapse, upon her arrival in Greece.
As a lawyer who had spent her entire life in Kyiv, Katerina had never considered leaving her home country, but the outbreak of the full-scale war, on 24 February 2022, left her with no other choice. She found herself in a situation where she had to secure a safe place for herself and her three-year-old son.
Overwhelmed by emotions, Katerina recalls the harrowing early days of the war, hastily packing their suitcases, placing them in the car along with some water and a few of her child’s toys. She even watered the flowers in her apartment, hoping for their prompt return and embarked on a five-day journey, through snow and heavy rain, with Athens as their destination. Her son, unaware of the war, kept asking about their home and his father. Katerina couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth. When they arrived in Athens, on 9 March 2022, she broke down in tears, releasing all the stress of those days.
Katerina (R), a Ukrainian refugee, facilitates a self-help group to psychosocially support other community members, while art therapist Alina Malynovska (C) draws women's faces on paper cups. © UNHCR/Socrates Baltagiannis
New challenges arose, and Katerina felt overwhelmed and pressed for time. She not only had to support her child but also her older relatives, who had also settled in Athens, and felt lost. At the same time, she faced the risk of homelessness. “I had too many responsibilities on my shoulders and in order to cope with everything, I had to bury the pain deep within”, she recounts.
During this difficult time, Katerina met Olesia*, a Community Psychosocial Worker (CPW) employed by EPAPSY. CPWs are members of the refugee community who have been trained in psychosocial support techniques to assist their compatriots in their native language. They act as a compass, guiding refugees in their new lives. Olesia had migrated to Greece before the war, but was deeply affected by the situation in her country and could not remain indifferent towards the suffering of her compatriots. So, she committed herself to helping in any way she could. Her T-shirt says it all: “What superpower do I have? I am Ukrainian”.
In addition to individual sessions and a helpline offering psychological support, EPAPSY organizes self-help groups, as part of the peer-to-peer psychosocial support programme for Ukrainian refugees. These groups, facilitated by members of the Ukrainian community, meet every week in Athens and Thessaloniki. Under the guidance of facilitators, primarily women, participants exchange information about their daily lives, learn stress management techniques and find solutions to challenging situations. Workshops, such as the art therapy workshop, are also organized as empowering activities on the sidelines. Olesia asked Katerina to lead one of these self-help groups as a facilitator, recognizing her dynamism and ability to cope with difficulties.
Despite her initial reservations, Katerina agreed to attend the training course.
Ukrainian refugee women who participate in the art therapy workshop are using aluminium foil to create something special for them. "By creating and expressing difficult feelings, participants in the workshop can have a dialogue with these feelings, bear them and feel relief", says Alina Malynovska, an art therapist who implements the workshop. © UNHCR/Socrates Baltagiannis
Ksenya (2nd from the left), a Ukrainian refugee, participates together with other women from Ukraine in an art therapy workshop organized as part of a peer-to-peer psychosocial support programme for Ukrainian refugees implemented by UNHCR and EPAPSY. © UNHCR/Socrates Baltagiannis
Art therapist, Alina Malynovska (L), Community Psychosocial Worker, Olesia (C) and self-help group group facilitator, Katerina (R), all from Ukraine, support other Ukrainian refugees through a peer-to-peer psychosocial support programme implemented in Athens and Thessaloniki. © UNHCR/Socrates Baltagiannis
Valantis Papathanasiou is EPAPSY's scientific manager of the peer-to-peer psychosocial support programme for Ukrainian refugees organized in Athens and Thessaloniki, in partnership with UNHCR. "Self-help groups don't provide just psychosocial support. They are also a hub, where Ukrainian refugees share their customs and traditions, as art is also a therapeutic tool for them", Mr. Papathanasiou explains. © UNHCR/Socrates Baltagiannis
Maryna Sorokina, a Ukrainian psychologist, is responsible for supporting and empowering Community Psychosocial Workers and facilitators of the self-help groups, in the framework of a programme implemented by EPAPSY in partnership with UNHCR. "When some people experience a traumatic event, they evolve, become stronger, overcome obstacles, help others and feel competent", Maryna says. © UNHCR/Socrates Baltagiannis
Alina Malynovska, a Ukrainian art therapist and painter, draws on paper cups the faces of women participating in an art therapy workshop for Ukrainian refugees in Athens. © UNHCR/Socrates Baltagiannis
“I still struggled to comprehend the enormity of what had happened. My life was divided into two distinct parts: before and after the war. I had attempted to mask my difficulties, however all the pain and genuine emotions poured out of me through these lessons. It was a cathartic experience”, Katerina recalls.
Upon completing the training, Katerina felt that the programme had been transformative for her. She believed it could have a similar impact on other participants. That is how she decided to take on the voluntary role of facilitating self-help groups, recognizing the strength and resilience she had developed through the acquired tools. “It was a gift. A gift I felt compelled to share rather than keep solely for myself”, she says.
The CPWs and the facilitators of self-help groups are not professional psychologists. Valantis Papathanasiou, the scientific manager of EPAPSY’s programme, explains the approach: “The entire project is rooted in lived experiences; someone has experienced similar events with others, so this common experience bonds people”.
As Katerina continues to facilitate self-help groups, she draws strength and fulfillment from the positive feedback from group participants and workshop attendees. For instance, Ksenya, a Ukrainian refugee, expresses her newfound strength: “When I arrived in Greece, I started my life from scratch. Now, thanks to the tools provided by this programme, I feel I have the power to move forward”. When Katerina hears such comments, she realizes the significance of her participation in the programme and how she could use this valuable experience when she returns to Ukraine.
“After this experience in Greece and when the war ends, we will be stronger and more confident to help other Ukrainian people by organizing these groups by ourselves in our country.”
*Names have been changed for protection reasons.
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