“The war has affected everyone and changed us. We must also raise the next generation with regard to the experience Ukrainians have lived through.”

(Svitlana Timofieieva, lead psychologist of the TAPS Charity Foundation)

This is an absolutely correct stance during war and in the post-war period: civilians, those who stayed here, must be the first to change. We even have to raise our children differently, considering that the war has already lasted ten years. It has clearly affected everyone and changed us. The next generation must also be raised with an understanding of the experience Ukrainians have endured. That is why it is important to create mentoring support for those who have lost loved ones in the war, and to develop, with the participation of the military, special programs of patriotic education for young people, so they treat veterans who defended our lives with respect and gratitude.

— Svitlana Timofieieva, lead psychologist of the TAPS Charity Foundation

When and how did the war begin for you?

For me, the war began back in 2014, when in Dnipro we started receiving and helping the first displaced people who were fleeing the war in Donbas. It was our first serious challenge, because since Ukraine’s independence we had never faced the consequences of war and its impact on a person’s psychological state.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, I chose to work with the military. In early March, our team of psychologists began volunteering in hospitals, working with soldiers and later with civilians and internally displaced persons, both adults and children. We saw people affected by the war, so we started working with everyone who needed psychological support. The realities of war introduced us to the families of fallen soldiers. Therefore, I made this area a priority—working with soldiers and with the families of active and fallen servicemen. This is my contribution to our Victory. And I hope that my work helps ease their burden.

Tell us about your path as a psychotherapist. Why did you choose this profession?

My first degree was in economics. It so happened that I worked a lot with different people and felt that I lacked certain knowledge and understanding of their behavior.

Therefore, linking my life with psychology was a deliberate step that significantly influenced all my further development. Even before that, I had been very interested in human psychology and social psychology. I observed people’s behavior, their appearance, their character. I was fascinated by why people are alike or different from each other.

For a time, I worked as an organizer of psychological training events and workshops. Later I earned a degree as a psychologist, then as a trainer, and eventually as a psychotherapist. My plans, of course, include continuing my work, improving my knowledge and experience in the chosen field, and writing a doctoral dissertation, because there are many aspects of psychotherapy that should be deepened for practical use. I study different psychological approaches because I believe that a single method is not enough to help a person understand themselves.

My goal is to help and teach children and teenagers how to live without adults; to teach adults how to communicate with children; and to help adults deal with their own problems. I want to create a social environment in which people want to live and develop.

What does the TAPS Charity Foundation mean to you? How did you join the team?

I joined the TAPS Foundation at the beginning of the war. I participated in many events, and later our team went to a camp for the wives of fallen soldiers. Now we continue to provide consultations and group therapy for families. For me, TAPS has become a family. Even when we are all in different cities, we still feel united because we are doing one common cause. And for a shared mission you believe in, there are no borders or limits.

What are your goals and expectations in working with TAPS? Which projects have you already implemented, and what do you plan to carry out with the team?

My goals are to continue providing help both individually and collectively. I try to help people cope with their difficult emotional states, increase their stress resistance, raise their children, and continue living. It is very important to be able to keep living despite the trauma and grief brought by war.

I truly want our projects to develop and expand, because we already clearly understand that soldiers will return home, and it is crucial to help them integrate into civilian life, to understand themselves, and for us—those for whom they endured the horrors of war—to adjust to them and create a supportive social environment.

Each of us must understand this and do something so that together with the soldiers we can keep living. This is an absolutely correct position during war and after it: civilians, those who remained here, must be the first to change. We even have to raise our children differently, considering that the war has already lasted ten years. It has clearly affected and changed all of us. The next generation must also be raised with an understanding of the experience Ukrainians have endured. That is why it is important to create mentoring support for those who lost loved ones in the war and to develop, with the participation of the military, special programs of patriotic education for youth, so that they show respect and gratitude to those who protect their lives.

In society, not everyone thinks that so much attention should be paid to the military theme. How can this be changed, given that the military are the backbone of our country?

The path of a defender and veteran is not just a journey taken by one person, but a road measured by the support and compassion of each of us. When a defender stands on the front line, he believes that behind him is a nation that supports his dedication and sacrifice. When a veteran returns from the front, he embarks on a new path in peaceful life, where not only personal strength matters, but also the strength of a community that knows how and when to extend a helping hand.

This path must be traveled circle by circle, as all of us, as members of society, support our defenders and veterans. We must create conditions for their reintegration, help with education, provide medical care and psychological support, and facilitate their participation in public life. The success of this journey depends on each of us. By honoring and supporting our heroes, we not only thank them for their service, but also demonstrate the strength and unity of our nation.

And I very much want us to be together at every stage of their journey. All these values also apply to the families of soldiers. Their path deserves respect and understanding as well, because waiting day after day for loved ones, or learning of a loss and continuing to live, is an enormous trial for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians. Support and gratitude are our duty and our honor.

Tell us about your personal achievements and share advice on maintaining mental health and stability during wartime.

If I have helped someone, this already proves the value of my chosen profession. Some people, thanks to my work, have found their place in society, restored relationships, had children and built families, managed life’s difficulties, overcame fears, life changes, and crises. There are many such stories. This is the main result of my work.

I believe in cause and effect: if you do something today, it will always influence your future. Therefore, it is important to act now so that tomorrow you do not regret what you did—or failed to do.

In wartime, when everyone experiences stress and suffers various traumas from loss or shelling, we must take care of ourselves—our basic needs, emotional state, and our loved ones and friends. Perhaps there are people to whom you have not said warm words of support or shown care, but you would like to.

Or you may have repressed feelings that are damaging your relationships, and you need to find the strength to correct this, to talk, and to apologize in order to relieve the burden.

It is important to live in the here and now, to seek those who understand you—family, friends. You need to involve yourself in the social life of your community, because we are human, and we must be among people to help and to feel a sense of participation in creating a new future.

Taking care of proper sleep, nutrition, health, your appearance, and your physical safety during air-raid alerts are all steps that provide the resources to calmly make plans, even for the near future. Create your own meaning in every day, and then life will become full.

Author: Kateryna Leonova

Photographer: Andrii Bolotnov