Art therapy in times of crisis is not merely creativity for the sake of beauty or aesthetics. It is a subtle and sensitive path to healing that offers a person a safe opportunity to touch their emotions, to live through their inner experiences, and to find the strength within themselves to move forward. It is a form of deep self-contact through image, metaphor, gesture, or sound. And it is in such moments that creativity becomes a resource capable of restoring resilience, hope, and self-belief.
At Poltava Polytechnic, a series of art therapy events continues for people affected by the war in Ukraine. On June 25, 2025, an art therapy session was held in the dormitory of the Separate Structural Unit of the Poltava Oil and Gas Vocational College of the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”. Lesia Klevaka, PhD in Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, and Acting Head of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, led the session. It was organised specifically for internally displaced persons aged 18 and above who have found themselves in new life circumstances and need space for reflection, inner balance, and restorative energy.
The session, titled “Pages of My Life”, was dedicated to working with personal experience through creative practices. Special attention was given to laughter therapy as one of the most powerful tools for emotional support. After all, laughter is not only an expression of joy; it is also a means of emotional release, an activator of inner resources, and a bridge between pain and relief. Participants discovered together how laughter helps us return to life even amid uncertainty. It activates the body’s natural self-healing mechanisms, allows us to see light even in the darkest circumstances, and opens a path to emotional renewal through sincerity, acceptance, and warm communication. In this context, laughter became not a distraction from pain, but a means of coping with it. Still, a means of transformation – it allowed participants to view difficulties from a new perspective, to find strength not just to endure, but to preserve humanity, compassion, and inner light.
The central part of the session was a creative exercise called “Book of Life,” where each participant had the opportunity to visualise their unique story – the key stages of the past, the meaning of the present, and the aspirations of the future. Through symbolic images, colours, words, and metaphors, participants not only recalled their experiences but reinterpreted their life journey, giving it new meaning and inner support.
This process allowed them to see not only pain and loss, but also the inner strength that enabled them to persevere, the dreams that remain alive, and the values that remain constant despite all life’s storms. In a warm and trusting atmosphere, everyone felt that their story was valued and mattered. Laughter, mutual support, shared experience, and collective creativity formed a powerful therapeutic environment – a space where one could be themselves and feel truly heard.
Art therapy practices do not aim to heal all at once. Instead, they create space in which a process begins: remembering, reinterpreting, accepting, and hoping. And in this lies their exceptional value for internally displaced persons who have experienced the trauma of losing their homes, familiar rhythms, and personal connections.
These sessions serve as a gentle reminder: even in the most challenging moments, life continues, and within each of us lies the inner resource to write a new, vibrant chapter in our own story.
We sincerely thank all the participants for their openness, sincerity, and trust. Together, we are building a space of healing, acceptance, and support.
The event formed part of the international, large-scale EU-funded Erasmus+ KA220-ADU project “TRUST” – 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 title is decoded as follows:
TRUST
T – Trauma
R – Refugees
U – Ukraine
S – Solidarity
T – Therapy
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).
Looking ahead, further art therapy events under the TRUST initiative will unveil new trauma-focused techniques and deepen self-help practices. After all, art is not only about beauty – it is about the power to live, even when life shifts. It is about the inner resource that sustains us when the ground seems to slip away beneath our feet.
Media Centre of
National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”
