Marharyta Kucherenko, project coordinator and practicing psychologist, has spoken about the Lobanov Project, a significant endeavor to deliver psychological assistance to war-affected people. The initiative aims to cater to individuals needing adaptation to new living conditions.
About the Lobanov Psychological Assistance Project
“The Lobanov project symbolizes the collective loss endured due to war. It’s a symbol of life, the quality of which transitions from black to white as participants go through therapy and move ahead,” says Marharyta Kucherenko.
The inception of the Lobanov psychological support project was spontaneous, like most charitable initiatives. The project bears the name of Yehor Lobanov, a former patient of psychologist Margarita Kucherenko, who lost his life in the full-scale war.
“In the course of a session with a client, it turned out that Yehor Lobanov was a dear friend of hers, something we discovered towards the end of our work with her. It struck us spontaneously that it would be fitting to dedicate a project to his memory where we assist individuals affected by the full-scale invasion. This was a profound experience for me, being a psychologist who has lost a lot of people to war, including clients,” Marharyta elaborates.
Yehor Lobanov, a Kovel resident, served as a professional soldier in the Special Operations Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the ATO period. He tragically died aged 24 on February 28, 2022, during a combat mission near Tokmak in the south of the country. Yehor Lobanov was posthumously awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, 3rd Class.
About the Lobanov Project’s Financing
“The peculiarity lies in the fact that a part of the funds was raised by people. This demonstrates people’s responsibility for these funds. Consequently, they are interested in sharing and recommending this project.
Without advertising budgets, information about this project spread through the network simply because people wanted to help each other. And this embodies the concept of complete indifference, as the project coordinator explains.”
As a result, the first part of the funding, about 24,000 hryvnias, was raised by ordinary citizens.
“For the pilot phase of the project, we also raised funds exclusively from individuals. However, due to the war and economic difficulties, we couldn’t raise the required 100,000 hryvnias by ourselves. The Charity Foundation Stabilization Support Services, in partnership with Choose Love, helped us meet our fundraising goal for the project. We’re thankful for their assistance in raising the necessary funds for the Lobanov Project,” Marharyta adds.
The Lobanov Project: Who Receives Psychological Assistance
The Lobanov project is focused on providing assistance directly to individuals who have suffered from the full-scale war that has led to mental health problems.
“Those merely experiencing familial issues are not our focus. The project is designed to assist those whose ability to work has been lost due to war, necessitating their adjustment to new living conditions. This includes internally displaced persons (IDPs) or those forced to emigrate due to their mental state making it untenable to stay in Ukraine,” Marharyta clarifies.
Each project participant is required to undergo an examination by a psychiatrist or a neurologist if needed, followed by psychological counseling to stabilize their condition. Each participant is given ten sessions with experts.
At present, the Lobanov project includes ten carefully selected individuals.
“Selection of participants was strategic since most charitable organizations face the issue of unmotivated individuals enrolling in such initiatives and not showing up for crisis counseling. Thus, the project was structured to include an initial form for potential participants to fill out, followed by motivational interviews, before getting accepted into the project. Consequently, ten individuals were selected out of all the applications,” explains the project coordinator.
The counseling sessions are conducted online, and necessary medical treatment prescriptions are provided digitally.
“Beneficiaries of the assistance include civilians, spouses of service members, and individuals twice impacted by war due to displacement. Many of the project participants hail from Donetska Oblast, particularly Mariupol, as well as from Kharkivska Oblast. The only exception is a participant from Dnipro who faced the full-scale war in Kharkiv and had a traumatic experience.”
About the Lobanov Project’s Feedback
The Lobanov Project has successfully completed its pilot phase with three participants, who went through all the stages of the selection concept and finished the program.
“These participants are now functioning well and are leading full lives, which proves the effectiveness of the stabilization sessions. Unlike other foundations that typically offer only 2-3 sessions, the Lobanov Project provides 10, which helps to avoid a high turnover of participants and achieves a significant impact,” Marharyta notes.