When Therapy Happens During War

"When Olena speaks about her son, she says little about the past or about how he came to be a prisoner in Russia. Vadim, 19, was seized as a civilian at a checkpoint in the Donbas, in territory occupied by Russian forces at the start of the full-scale invasion four years ago. What occupies Olena now is not how it happened but what may come next."

"Such fears are common among families of detainees and former prisoners of war. Trauma does not end with release. For many, the most psychologically demanding period begins afterward, when reality is different from long-held expectations. Olena is one of many Ukrainians participating in live psychotherapy sessions as the war continues. The patient-therapist conversations are not recollections shaped by distance or hindsight. They take place while missiles still fall, while loved ones remain missing, and while the threat itself has not passed."

"The sessions are led by Viktor Dlugunovych, a Ukrainian-American psychotherapist who specializes in trauma. Participants include civilians whose lives were abruptly overtaken by war: mothers, widows, displaced people, and families living with prolonged uncertainty. In one session, Olena was asked a deceptively simple question: How did the occupation begin? She described explosions, a destroyed bridge, the closure of her workplace, and the sudden realization that her daily routines were gone."

Vadim, 19, was seized as a civilian at a checkpoint in the Donbas during the full-scale invasion four years ago. Olena worries less about how the seizure happened than about how years of captivity may have changed him and whether she will know how to speak with him when he returns. Trauma often intensifies after release, and many families find the post-release period more psychologically demanding when reality clashes with long-held expectations. Live psychotherapy sessions led by Viktor Dlugunovych involve civilians living with ongoing uncertainty, and conversations frequently shift from external events to internal emotional consequences. Guilt, hypervigilance, and caregiver vulnerability undermine recovery.

Read at Psychology Today