Resilience Seminar for Professionals Working with Veterans and War-Affected Populations: An Inspiring Exchange of Experience

On May 26–27, 2025, The Veteran Mental Health Center Of Excellence at the Institute of Psychiatry of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, in partnership with the Federation Global Initiative on Psychiatry (FGIP), held a two-day seminar and networking event for professionals providing care to military personnel, veterans, their families, and and other war-affected populations.

The event brought together participants from across Ukraine — including service members, physicians, nurses, psychologists, occupational therapists, social workers, and other specialists supporting soldiers, veterans, wounded civilians, bereaved families, and relatives of the missing, as well as other vulnerable groups. The seminar created a space for professional exchange, in-depth learning, and restoration.

The centerpiece of the program was a resilience training session based on an evidence-based approach to individual and collective recovery from trauma.

The speaker was Rachel Thibeault — occupational therapist, Doctor of Psychological Sciences, internationally recognized expert on resilience, and Officer of the Order of Canada. Her approach combines scientific rigor, practical experience with military populations, and a deeply human perspective that opens the path to healing.

Participants noted that the seminar provided not only valuable knowledge and tools for working with trauma but also a powerful source of support and inspiration amid the difficult conditions of war.

This seminar marks another step in building a professional community of specialists united by a shared mission: preserving human dignity and mental health under conditions of extreme stress.