When words fall silent and the soul grows weary from constant tension, the body begins to speak. It remembers everything: the pain of separation, the anxiety of waiting, the cold of loss. Following the deep emotional meeting “Hearing Yourself Amidst the Sirens”, the art-therapy program within the Erasmus+ KA220-ADU “TRUST” project continued with another powerful event under the symbolic title “In Your Rhythm: Art Therapy from Tension to Harmony”. This time, participants were able not only to talk about themselves but to live through themselves in their bodies – through rhythm, movement, and creativity.
This dance-therapy session was conducted by the university’s practical psychologist, Olena Kryvenko and Associate Professor of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy Maryna Teslenko, as part of the 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).
The event, like the previous ones, was aimed at individuals suffering from chronic stress as a result of the prolonged war with Russia. The event was targeted at those who bear the invisible but heavy burden of war. The therapeutic group consisted of wives and other family members of military personnel, and internally displaced persons who have experienced the loss of their homes, separation from loved ones, and the endless stress of waiting. Some of them had arrived in Poltava only a few months ago, while others were relocating for the second or third time. They were all united by a common need: to find a point of stability when the ground is shaking beneath their feet, to reconnect with themselves, and to process their pain and fatigue in a safe space.
The meeting began with the gentle creation of a circle of trust. Each participant introduced themselves through their name, a favourite movie, and a word describing their current state “here and now”. This helped to tune into a standard wavelength and feel that one is not alone in their experiences. Psychologist Maryna Teslenko explained why working with the body is vitally important: long-term stress affects all senses, it seems to freeze bodily sensitivity, and reduces concentration and emotional resilience. The body learns to be in a constant state of high alert, and helping it to relax and feel again is a key therapeutic task. That is why working with the body is not just appropriate, but essential for life.
The central part of the session was dedicated to dance-therapy practices, with psychologist Olena Kryvenko leading the way into the world of movement. Participants got to know each other through rhythmic exercises that sparked laughter and relieved tension, performed fun and rhythmic activities like “Pingu-Pong”, and then symbolically untangled a “sun circle” of ribbons, restoring a sense of connection and interaction. The event became a platform for exploring the deep link between bodily expression, emotions, and the ability to feel music, rhythm, and tempo. Participants explored their rhythms through their body, imagination, movement, and creativity. A particularly profound exercise was “Feel Your Rhythm”: the women delved into themselves, listening to their pulse, the pace of their breathing, the faint tremor in their palms, and correlated these sensations with different life rhythms. Afterwards, the group performed an improvisational exercise, “Move in Rhythm” –to varying types of music, participants moved freely, sensing what resonated more: lightness, strength, calm, or impulse, aggression, chaos.
The most emotional and liberating exercise was “Emotions in Motion”. Participants took turns living through basic emotions – sadness, fear, anger, joy –allowing their bodies to react naturally: contracting, opening up, tensing. Movement to music created a safe environment for releasing accumulated feelings that had previously remained frozen. During the transitions between emotions, many noted how their breathing, posture, and even inner mood changed. Some allowed themselves to experience anger without shame for the first time; others realised how long they had been suppressing fear. The exercise became not only an emotional release but also a deep practice of self-observation. Finally, participants exchanged “imaginary gifts” and thanked each other for their presence.
The session had a psychological effect in that each participant not only received a tool for self-observation but also learned to accept the different phases of their own life. In wartime conditions, when pain and anxiety can change one's rhythm daily, it is essential to know that even a phase of “breakdown” has meaning. And from it, a new movement, a new rhythm begins.
Such sessions are a gentle yet profound method of psychoprophylaxis that helps to support a person, preserve emotional health, prevent burnout, and increase inner stability.
The TRUST project, which brings together partners from six EU countries, proves once again that recovery is possible when a person is in a circle of those who support them and in a safe environment – not only through words, but through the body, rhythm, touch, and image. And it is in their rhythm that each person can heal pain, touch what is alive within themselves, and find harmony amidst the storm. The following meetings are already being prepared. The space of care continues.
As a reminder, the faculty of Poltava Polytechnic can participate in academic mobility and internship programs. Students can study abroad through Erasmus+ credit academic mobility grant programs for a semester or a full academic year at leading universities in Austria, Greenland, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the Czech Republic.
For more detailed information on current internship, teaching, and academic mobility programs abroad, please get in touch with the International Relations Office (office 213-C, interoffice@nupp.edu.ua) or the coordinator of international activities at the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” – Anna Pavelieva, Ph.D. in Philology, Associate Professor of the Department of Germanic Philology and Translation (email: kunsite.zi@gmail.com, phone: +38-(095)-91-08-192).
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National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”
