Post by Mariya Vynnytska

Four years ago, four Ukrainian psychologists sat together on a Zoom screen — and spoke to 300 people from around the world. It was July 2022. The full-scale invasion had been going on for five months. We had just launched our Crisis Center. We had no idea yet what THE SOUL would become. And then the Elisabeth Kübler Ross Foundation invited us to the EKR Global Humanitarian Colloquium — a gathering of some of the most extraordinary professionals in grief, palliative care, and trauma healing from across the globe: physicians, social workers, spiritual counsellors, grief therapists, organizational consultants, and psychologists. We were asked to speak about one thing: the psychosocial needs of Ukrainian people during the war. We spoke about loss. Not only the loss that is visible — homes, cities, loved ones. But the invisible losses too: identity, safety, the future you had imagined for your children. The loss of the world that made sense. And something unexpected happened. We felt held. By the compassion of 300 people, most of whom probably have never been to Ukraine — and yet sat with us, listened, and made space for our grief. It was, in its own quiet way, therapeutic. For us too. We also shared something that has always been at the heart of our work: Ukrainian arts and culture as a pathway to healing. Because when everything is taken — language, music, ritual, creative expression — these are not luxuries. They are lifelines. That colloquium brought us together with people who would become long-term partners and friends: Joan Marston, Liese Groot-Alberts, Dr. Katie Eastman, Ken Ross, Dr. Ann Toh — voices who have walked alongside THE SOUL ever since. Now, four years later, we are preparing to honour the 100th anniversary of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's birth — July 8, 2026. Our 2026 Ukrainian Circle program, Heart That Heals (Серце, яке зціляє), is dedicated to her legacy: the belief that grief, when witnessed with love, becomes the ground of growth. From four psychologists on a Zoom screen — to a global movement of healing. With deep gratitude to the Elisabeth Kübler Ross Foundation for being the first to hold space for us — and for Ukraine — when we needed it most. 💙💛 With heartfelt thanks to every soul that is standing with Ukraine 🙏🏻 💛 NGO Ukrainian Psychology Center THE SOUL 🌐 https://lnkd.in/gyeYqPjw 💙 Support our work: https://lnkd.in/gnW88_DQ #MentalHealth #Ukraine #EKR100 #TheSoul