On June 2, 2025, a unique art therapy session on neurography titled “My Tree of Life” took place at the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”. The event was specially organised for students who are internally displaced persons (IDPs). The session was led by Olena Kryvenko, a practical psychologist and assistant at the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy of the university.
The primary goal of the session was to help participants develop a profound understanding of their life resources and values. By creating a symbolic image of their life path in the form of a tree, participants aimed to strengthen their inner support system and boost their self-esteem.
The session was carefully structured to support self-exploration and healing. It began with an introductory circle, where participants had the opportunity to get to know one another and create a safe and trusting atmosphere. At this stage, the psychologist facilitated a discussion of the “tree of life” metaphor using the deck of metaphorical associative cards “Trees.” After that, everyone completed the associative exercise “20 words in 2 minutes” on the topic “Tree of Life,” writing their thoughts on the back of the sheet, which helped activate initial associations and feelings.
The next step was an introduction to the technique of neurography. The psychologist briefly but clearly explained the basic principles of this method: the use of flowing lines, rounding of corners, building compositions through circles, and working with colour and field lines. These foundational concepts became the basis for the subsequent art practice.
The central part of the session – the art practice – lasted 40–50 minutes. During this time, participants gradually created their own “tree of life”, reflecting various aspects of their inner world on paper. The roots symbolised ancestral resources, childhood experiences, emotional support, skills, and gratitude. To deepen the understanding of sources of strength, metaphorical associative cards (MACs) were actively used. As a projective therapy tool, they stimulate imagination and associative thinking, helping to bring hidden feelings and thoughts to the conscious level, especially those that are difficult to express in words.
The trunk of the tree represented personality, character, beliefs, and inner support. The branches reflected dreams, goals, and aspirations, while the crown symbolised inspiration, achievements, and future resources, often visualised as circles. If they wished, participants added fruits – achievements, results, and insights. Some even drew “baskets” at the base of the tree, where they collected the “ripened” fruits, expressing gratitude to themselves and others. While drawing, special attention was given to activating resources (through depictions of family strength, positive experiences, physical endurance, etc.), channeling energy toward the “Self”, choosing colors, and integrating the image into the “field of life” by adding additional lines and color fills, which made the artwork complete and harmonious.
The session concluded with a 15–20-minute reflection. Participants had the opportunity to share their impressions and respond to key questions: what they discovered about themselves, which element of the tree turned out to be the most significant, and what the chosen colours symbolised. Each participant was invited to give their tree a title, making it a symbol of their personal journey and inner potential.
The session used A3 or A4 sheets, colored pens, markers, highlighters, black liners, pencils, and, of course, the “Trees” MAC deck.
This art therapy session evolved not just into a workshop but a safe space for deep self-exploration, reflection, and creative processing of life experiences. Visualising the inner state through the tree metaphor allowed participants to feel their strength, recall essential sources of support from the past, and clearly outline their desired future. The session provided not only emotional relief but also contributed to the formation of internal stability and the strengthening of belief in one’s abilities – something especially crucial for internally displaced persons in today’s circumstances.
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).
Additionally, Poltava Polytechnic is currently conducting a series of art therapy sessions as part of the TRUST project. These sessions have 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.
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