Arts on Prescription: Psychosocial Support for Children and Adolescents in Kharkiv Hospitals
In September, we are launching a new project in partnership with hospitals in Kharkiv. The project aims to provide psychosocial support to children and adolescents aged 5–17 who are undergoing long-term treatment at the Municipal Clinical Multidisciplinary Hospital No. 25 and the Municipal Children’s Hospital No. 5 in Kharkiv. The participating departments include neurology, oncohematology, and palliative care (children’s hospice).
Over the course of five months, a team of a music therapist and hospital clowns will visit the hospital departments every week to deliver sessions focused on supporting the children’s emotional wellbeing and resilience. These creative practices will provide a safe way for children to express their emotions and experiences, while also helping restore a sense of agency and control over their own experience at a time when most decisions during hospitalization are made by adults.
Alongside the sessions, the children will receive psychological support, while the team will receive supervision in partnership with the Kharkiv Foundation for Psychological Research. The impact of the sessions will be assessed through an initial and final assessment of the children’s psychosocial wellbeing, regular feedback from parents and medical staff, and ongoing monitoring by psychologists.
We are aware that this is not yet “arts on prescription” in the way the model operates in the UK or Denmark. But for Ukraine, it is an important step towards testing the model in practice. The data collected through the project will inform analytical materials and help us share the project’s experience with the professional community. In the longer term, we hope this will contribute to advocating for the systematic integration of creative approaches to psychosocial support into the healthcare system.
Team
Iryna Avdeyeva is a dancer, performer, choreographer, and trainer in dance improvisation and performance.
Hospital and crisis clown in the “Fine Noses” project in Kharkiv; corrective pedagogue at the NGO “HFDP”.
Worked as a movement and improvisation trainer and choreographer at the Inclusive Theater Studio and Playback Theater “Teen Hub Khalabuda”, choreographer in the theater project of KHUIH – Inclusive Theater Laboratory “Crossing Borders”, and was part of the performance group “Dancelab” (Kharkiv). Founder and leader of the “ArTtilo Body Images Laboratory”.
Veronika Ivonina is a musician and a student at the I. P. Kotlyarevsky Kharkiv National University of Arts. She is a mentee of Nigel Osborne and a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship for Young Artists.
Vladyslava Andriushchenko is a clinical psychologist, Board Member of the Ukrainian Association of Clinical Psychologists, and Head of the Section of Child Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation. She also serves as an external specialist for the Department of Health of the Kharkiv City Council.
Tetiana Hryda is a psychologist and Gestalt therapist specializing in shock trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She is Chair of the Board and a trainer at the Kharkiv Foundation for Psychological Research.
She is the author and facilitator of early childhood development and psychological trauma prevention programs at the Stikhial Early Development Centre. She also provides training for the team of Kharkiv Hospital Clowns, “Faini Nosy.”
This project is made possible by the generous support of the United States Government. The contents are the responsibility of CIVIC ORGANIZATION “ART DOT” and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Government.
Might be interesting
