Hope and Healing in Ukraine

May 19, 2023
A glimpse at our Kyiv workshop, which was attended by more than 80 people.

In partnership with Pact on a USAID-funded Public Health System Recovery & Resilience Activity, we are organizing and implementing a comprehensive program to train and mentor Ukrainian clinicians, educators, and other community leaders in our groundbreaking model for healing population-wide trauma.

This week, CMBM Founder and CEO, James S. Gordon, MD, Senior International Program Manager Andrew Leone, MA, Faculty Member and Supervisor Mindy Milam, LCSW, and photographer/videographer John Phaneuf have visited Kyiv, Chernihiv, Vasylkiv, and Odesa, presenting introductory mind-body medicine workshops and meeting with community leaders.

The first workshop, which took place on Tuesday, drew nearly 100 representatives from Kyiv, Zhytomir, and Vinnytsia. Together, participants learned and experienced practical, evidence-based tools for preventing and managing stress and building resilience and self-awareness. They also learned how the CMBM approach can enable them—and those they serve—to deal effectively with traumatic events and ongoing stress. Attendees also heard more about our comprehensive training this July and ongoing program of mentorship and supervision.

Connecting with partners and attendees following our workshop in Chernihiv, a town close to the Russian border that, some months earlier, was occupied by the Russian border and is still targeted by missile attacks.

At our Hope and Healing for Ukraine workshops in Kyiv and Chernihiv, attendees learned practical, evidence-based skills that they can use immediately to address the effects of stress and trauma in their lives and in their communities. We are thankful for the opportunity to connect with so many amazing Ukrainian clinicians, educators, and other community leaders as we share these proven trauma-healing tools.

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