On June 11, 2025, the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” hosted another art therapy session as part of the ongoing psychosocial support program for people affected by the war in Ukraine. The event, titled “Mandala Inside: The Art of Emotional Connection”, was facilitated by Associate Professor of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy Marina Teslenko and practical psychologist and department assistant Olena Kryvenko.
In today’s reality, marked by daily stress, uncertainty, war, and loss, creating spaces where individuals can pause, reconnect with themselves, and regain inner strength is crucial. “Mandala Inside” art therapy session became just such a healing space.
The session provided a safe and supportive environment where participants could explore, express, and process their emotions and inner experiences through creative means. Special attention was given to internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have experienced the trauma of losing their homes, communities, and sense of safety due to the war.
Over the course of 90 minutes, participants created their five-layer mandalas, with each circle representing different dimensions of the self: inner state, relationships with others, sense of security, connection to the future, and resilience. Through colours, lines, and patterns, they revealed their emotional landscapes and discovered anchors of internal balance.
The session began with a warm, welcoming circle where everyone shared their emotional state using creative symbols. It concluded on an equally heartfelt note, with a group reflection where participants exchanged thoughts and insights. The process of drawing a mandala becomes an intimate dialogue with oneself, free from judgment and pressure, and filled with acceptance.
“It felt like I looked inside myself. I realised how deeply I can feel – and that there’s no need to hide those feelings”, – shared one participant.
Additionally, attendees learned simple emotional self-regulation techniques that can be applied in everyday life. Each mandala became a kind of “emotional mirror”– a personal image to return to in moments of inner turbulence.
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This session marked another meaningful step in the implementation of the Erasmus+ KA220-ADU TRUST project – Trauma of refugees in Europe: An approach through art therapy as a solidarity program for Ukraine war victims (Grant No. 2024-BE01-KA220-ADU-000257527). The project is co-funded by the EU and led by the Centre Neuro Psychiatrique St-Martin from Belgium, in partnership with the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” (Ukraine), Greek Carers Network EPIONI (Greece), Fondazione Don Luigi Di Liegro (Italy), Lekama Foundation (Luxembourg), EuroPlural Project (Portugal).
The project has already implemented a series of in-depth psychotherapeutic activities that have had a significant positive impact on the mental health of the participants themselves, who have experienced the loss of their homes, separation from loved ones, prolonged stress and anxiety. Art therapy helped to reduce emotional stress, learn to recognise and safely express their feelings, and reconnect with themselves and the world.
The TRUST project is ongoing and promises even more in-depth practices, new methods, and, most importantly, support, which is extremely necessary for Ukrainians today, as everyone is affected by the war's negative impact in one way or another.
The previous sessions included symbolic activities such as designing personal coats of arms to represent inner values, sources of strength and hope; associative drawing exercises; the “Relationships” activity aimed at reflecting on personal connections with loved ones, community, and country; discussions around “What does mental health mean to me?”; neurographic drawing; and immersion in body-oriented therapy where movement, dance, and physical expression become key tools for emotional release and recovery, worked with metaphorical associative cards, practiced associative reflection of thoughts on paper and explored the symbolism of the elements of nature and their direct impact on the human psyche and emotional state, plunged into music and daram therapy and took part in a unique art therapy session on neurography titled “My Tree of Life”, worked with metaphorical cards and the Nossrat Pezeshkian psychotherapeutic model, сreated drawings depicting a personal “Tree of Power”, did the art therapy exercise “My superpower”, were given tools for deeper self-understanding by transforming pain into art, and art into a path to healing; helped children recognise and understand their emotions, learn self-soothing techniques, and restore their emotional resilience, helped adult IDPs gain a deep understanding of their emotions, release internal tension, and harmonise their psycho-emotional state.
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National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”
