Art Therapy for Resilience and Healing: Educational Retreat in the Carpathians
From October 26 to November 2, 2024, the educational retreat “Art Therapy for Resilience and Healing” was held at the MS6 Creative Residence, located in the village of Slavske.
The project brought together 15 participants, including artists, educators, psychologists, and cultural professionals, who either already use art therapy or aim to integrate it into their work and develop new tools for supporting individuals and communities affected by the war. We engaged in experience-sharing, enjoyed moments of relaxation, and participated in various physiotherapy and art therapy practices. Together, we attended lectures and explored new techniques for addressing the emotional and psychosomatic effects of trauma.
The retreat’s lectures and mentoring sessions were led by experienced psychotherapists, physio- and art-therapists from Germany and Ukraine, who specialize in therapeutic and rehabilitation practices, including art therapy, physiotherapy, and psycho-physical training.
PROGRAM
The retreat program was designed with a focus on practices participants could incorporate into their own workshops, therapeutic sessions, and educational activities.
Key topics included:
- The retrospective use of art therapy in communities. (Veronika Skliarova)
- The Mechanism of Trauma. How to recognize a person with a traumatic disorder in your environment: dos and don’ts when communicating with someone who has traumatic experiences. (Olena Hrybalska)
- Working with a Traumatized Society: Healing through Art. (Olena Hrybalska)
- Working with vulnerable groups during full scale war: risk prevention for clients and for therapists. (Lera Polska)
- Forest therapy session. Connection with nature as a relaxation practice. Exploration of natural resources. Mindfulness as a part of human-nature connection. (Lera Polska)
- Stabilization of the psycho-emotional state under acute stress and Creating Safe Spaces: Imagining Security. (Maria Heller and Zhanna Samsoniuk)
- Haunted by History: The Legacy of Unprocessed Collective Trauma in Germany’s Late 20th Century and Its Impact on Present-Day Challenges. (Eva Yakubovska)
- Art therapy techniques: grounding through feet exploration, body work and painting. (Lera Polska)
- Exploring Emotions: Psychoeducation and Somatic Reflection through Artistic Expression. (Maria Heller and Zhanna Samsoniuk)
- Somatic Therapy. (Jeannette Eichner)
- Rituals of Grief and Consolation: Crafting a Vision for the Future through Collage. (Maria Heller and Zhanna Samsoniuk)
- Trauma and Resilience: Practical strategies for dealing with flashbacks and hyperexcitability, grounding exercises, and avoiding re-injury. (Jeannette Eichner)
- Stabilizing Inner Resources: Crafting Mobiles and Treasure Boxes for Happiness (tbc). (Maria Heller and Zhanna Samsoniuk)
- Where to find funding for art-therapy projects? (Olha Slozko)
- Earthforum: Reconnecting with the Earth and Imagination. (Jeannette Eichner)
- Nature, resources, creative interaction. Work with desensitization, perceptual organs, the ability to take resources from what is around. (Inna Falkova)
- Exploring the physical imprints of trauma and its expressions, including dissociation, guilt, shame, and long-term transgenerational effects. (Jeannette Eichner)
- Discharge and recharge of the nervous system. Authentic Movement as a tool for working with information from the body. (Inna Falkova)
- Creative Expression through Polarities and Listening. (Jeannette Eichner)
- Returning to (un)safe places. Methods of adaptation in the face of a challenge. (Inna Falkova)
Discussions and reflections were facilitated by Oksana Holubenko.
LECTURERS
Jeannette Eichner is an expert in art and body psychotherapy with years of experience working in psychosomatic and psychiatric clinics. She conducts individual and group therapy sessions, specializing in psychoeducation and trauma work.
Jeannette also has experience participating in art projects, curating exhibitions, mediation, and coaching. She has taught art and art therapy at universities and worked with various social groups, including children, people with addictions, refugees, and vulnerable populations.
Olena Hrybalska is a Gestalt therapist and EMDR therapist in the process of certification.
Her primary focus is deep psychotherapy and working with trauma, psychosomatic disorders, body-oriented therapy, and schema therapy.
Maria Heller is an art and trauma-focused therapist with over 20 years of experience. Her work includes supporting refugees, torture survivors, children in integration centers and orphanages, and individuals dealing with addiction or trauma from life circumstances.
In her practice, Maria focuses on trauma, psychotraumatology, and artistic practices that help stabilize and restore inner resources. She has also participated in international projects, working with refugee children in Greece and Georgia.
Zhanna Samsoniuk is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist with around 30 years of experience in psychiatric clinics and therapeutic centers. Since 2022, she has worked at Refugio München, where she conducts psychotherapy sessions for Ukrainians and leads therapeutic groups, including art therapy sessions for children.
Zhanna has extensive experience treating patients with addictions, developing therapeutic programs, and training specialists. She has participated in international conferences and actively volunteers, providing psychological support to Ukrainian refugees.
Lera Polska is an art therapist and resilience trainer for organizations and communities. She is a member of the American Art Therapy Association and the Ukrainian Art Therapy Association.
Lera specializes in stress management practices, preventing emotional burnout, and conflict resolution. She helps organizations, businesses, and communities care for their people’s mental health, build healthy relationships with life, and find a balance between war and life.
Inna Falkova is a somatic therapist with education and long-standing experience in trauma work. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, she has provided crisis psychotherapy in de-occupied areas and collaborated with international humanitarian organizations.
Additionally, with a background in choreography, Inna has been teaching at the Kharkiv State University of Arts for over 20 years, creating performative projects and working with movement dramaturgy for theaters.
Veronika Skliarova is a cultural manager, theater producer, and art curator. She is the director of the NGO “Art Dot,” founder of the Art Therapy Force project, and program director of the Parade-fest festival. Veronika has participated in international residencies and produced performative projects such as “Crimea, 5 a.m.,” “Ukrainian Odyssey,” and “Lesia. Yistory.”
She coordinates the Ukrainian pavilion at the Avignon off-theater festival, various national theater festivals in Europe, and is a jury member for the Polish Avrora drama award in Bydgoszcz. Veronika also coordinated and produced the exhibition “Kurbas. Workshops,” dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the founding of the art association “Berezil.”
Oksana Holubenko is a project manager and facilitator. Since 2023, she has held the position of project manager at the NGO “Office Action.” She is also a project manager and facilitator for the NGO “Sklad 2.0,” organizing the theater festival “Kit GavatoVycha” and the “Catch the Cat” residencies.
Oksana has experience as a mentor in the UPSHIFT (UNICEF) project and has worked on projects for international organizations such as Sciara Progetti (Italy) and the British Council. She has successfully implemented several cultural and volunteer projects, including the “Volunteer Retreat” project by the Art Dacha Foundation.
Olha Slezko is an operations manager at the NGO Vitsche Berlin, responsible for grant writing, operations management, and collaborating on international projects with organizations like GIZ, USAID, and the Goethe-Institut.
Olha has been involved in many of the organization’s cultural projects, including the interdisciplinary series “Ukrainian Sound Garden vol. 1 – vol. 6” in Berlin. Since 2008, she has been the founder of the Baker Street Sound Studio in Kyiv, where she works as a post-production producer for audio projects in film, television, and other media.
The project was held in cooperation between Vitsche, Art Therapy Force and Sklad 2.0, which united to create a safe space for collective understanding of trauma and acquisition of new skills and healing practices for people with strong psychological consequences of war.
Educational retreat in the Carpathians “Art therapy for resilience and healing” was carried out as part of the GIZ project, which is financed by the IB on behalf of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
FEEDBACK:
Alina Rashko
The educational retreat gave me a lot of inspiration, resources, and people I want to stay connected with. Overall, I feel that a values-driven community of art therapists is beginning to form, and I want to keep developing this further. I think it’s essential to establish professional ethics in this field.
I’m deeply grateful to the organizing team—this was a tremendous job on every level. Throughout, I felt like I was among “my people.”
Alina Shtefan
Thank you for the space, the free time, the power of community with those who also work with people and try to use art therapy to restore what’s been destroyed by rockets and violence. Thanks to the wise, empathetic, and experienced lecturers for their teachings, and for the opportunity for healing and renewal.
Lyudmyla Melnyk
I’m thrilled to have attended the retreat. I feel that this experience will help me grow professionally. I’m especially grateful for the chance to expand my toolkit with new methods and exercises from professional trainers from Ukraine and Germany. I gained valuable insights as a trainer, psychologist, and participant. Thank you all!
Oleksii Shokalo
Although it was called an educational retreat, it was truly transformational for me. The exercises presented in the workshops genuinely helped with healing, self-acceptance, acceptance of others, and restoring energy. I’m thankful for this opportunity. 🧘♂️
Olena Kuzmych
This week in the mountains was incredible, filled with amazing people, techniques, and practices. I’m so glad I was selected for this project’s cohort. All the topics presented were deeply relevant to what we’re collectively experiencing—this educational retreat was about trauma and growth, emotions and resilience, the strength of community, and the importance of processing our shared history.
Margarita Maiboroda
A wonderful educational retreat in a stunning place where you can take a deep breath and strengthen your connection with nature and yourself.
Anton Bryzhko
I participated in the retreat in the mountains of Slavske, and it was incredible! The fantastic atmosphere, good people all around, and a wealth of invaluable information on art therapy methods and techniques made me so glad I could take part in such a meaningful event. This was an unforgettable experience that will stay in my heart for a long time!
Yuliya Bondarets
Returned from a retreat for healing and resilience, feeling deeply inspired and equipped with new resources. This incredibly rich period in the heart of the Carpathians offered more than just the beauty of nature – an enchanting forest, cozy spaces for learning and living – it also brought new approaches and techniques in art therapy that I can’t wait to implement. Meeting people who share common values and visions became a valuable source of experience exchange and potential future collaboration. I am sincerely grateful to the organizers for creating such a warm and productive atmosphere!
Nataliia Shapovalova
It’s invaluable that projects like these are created, offering opportunities for experience exchange and learning for those working directly “in the field.” For me, it was important to connect with specialists with diverse experiences and methodologies, as well as to discover more practices that I can integrate into my work.
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