Introduction

This special panel moves beyond the consulting room and into the field, presenting a compelling series of essays by candidates at the Ukrainian School of Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy in Kyiv, alongside contributions from the institute’s founder, Alyona Chukanova, and translator Oksana Lyzak. This collection captures the personal and clinical reflections of these remarkable therapists, who navigate the dual role of analytic trainees and therapists amidst the trauma of war.

These essays offer a visceral portrayal of the psychological landscape of wartime Ukraine, illuminating experiences of fear, dread, guilt, shame, and rage, as well as resilience, hope, strength, and love. We hear from clinicians who, alongside their patients, endure nightly drone strikes, rolling power outages, profound uncertainty, and unbearable loss. Their narratives depict their efforts to survive emotionally as individuals and as therapists.

Framing this series are commentaries by New York-based supervisors Amy Schwartz Cooney and Rachel Sopher, who serve as witnesses and companions from afar, engaging in virtual dialogues with their Ukrainian colleagues. Their reflections capture the dizzying juxtapositions inherent in this reality: the extraordinary interwoven with the mundane, the terrifying coexisting with the reassuring, the incomprehensible unfolding alongside the familiar.

This special panel affirms the life-sustaining power of relational connection, underscoring the profound importance of community and therapeutic engagement across geographical, temporal, and existential divides. We are honored to share these voices from Ukraine.

Amy Schwartz Cooney, Ph.D.

New York, New York, USA