Ukrainian therapist in Ireland: Trauma follows people wherever they go, but therapy helps

WHEN PEOPLE ARE forced to leave their homes because of conflict, the challenges we face go far beyond finding a safe place to live. Many of us carry the emotional impact of trauma, uncertainty and loss long after we arrive in a new country.

I’m originally from Kyiv. When the war started, everything changed overnight. I suddenly faced the same difficult decisions as millions of other Ukrainians. I did not know what to do.

After making the very difficult decision to leave home, I arrived in Ireland with my daughter, hoping our stay would be temporary.

At first, I thought and hoped we would spend three or four months here until the situation improved. But as the war continued, it became clear that we would be here much longer.

Looking back on my experience so far, coming to Ireland feels like a journey towards the stability I lost at home.

Rebuilding my future

I began connecting with other Ukrainian therapists in Ireland and exploring how I could continue working in my profession. I started researching how to have my qualifications recognised.

The trauma-informed psychotherapy service provided through the Irish Red Cross became an important turning point. Personally, this project became a point of stability and hope. It gave me the chance to start something new and meaningful — the opportunity to help others while also rebuilding my own future. Being part of a supportive and committed team was also invaluable, reminding me of the strength of collaboration and the importance of working together to support those in need.

Through my work with people fleeing the war, I see firsthand how deeply the ongoing conflict continues to affect people’s mental health. I see the anxiety people experience, and also how people try to defend themselves emotionally.

Uncertainty and anxiety are most common. In the early stages of displacement, many people felt hopeful that the war would end quickly.

But as time has passed, emotional responses have changed. In the first year, people had a lot of energy and hope for a fast resolution. Later, I began to see more depressive tendencies and higher levels of anxiety.

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The unknown

Many people struggle with uncertainty about their future. Will they be able to return home? What decisions will be made by governments about accommodation or status? What opportunities will be open to their children? Living with this uncertainty can feel like running in darkness – you are moving forward, but you cannot see what obstacles might appear. Over time, this constant tension can lead to emotional exhaustion.

One of the important things we do in therapy is help people focus on the present moment — on what is happening here and now — rather than becoming overwhelmed by fears about the future. 

A key feature of the programme is that it is delivered by Ukrainian and Arabic-speaking therapists in the client’s native language. This makes a real difference. Even when someone speaks English very well, speaking in their native language allows them to express their emotions more naturally; they don’t have to search for words or translate their feelings.

I see this with my own daughter, who speaks English at school, but at home prefers to speak Ukrainian. She once told me that home is the place where she feels safe through language. It made me realise how important it is to preserve that sense of emotional safety.

As therapists who have experienced displacement ourselves, in some ways, we are in the same boat as our clients. We understand the context they are living in; we experience similar uncertainty and fears about the future. Many clients say this helps them feel more comfortable opening up about their personal challenges.

Meeting the client where they are

The programme is informed by Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) techniques, alongside trauma-based practice and therapists’ own psychotherapy training. NET is an evidence-based approach designed to help people experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It involves the client telling the story of their life in chronological order, beginning with childhood.

Through this process, they gradually revisit traumatic experiences in a safe and structured environment. When people tell the full story of their life, they begin to see that trauma is not their entire story.

Trauma often occurs when a person does not have enough support or emotional resources to cope with a difficult event. Through therapy, clients are supported in revisiting these experiences and developing new ways of processing them. Many people who experience trauma isolate themselves. Through therapy, they reconnect with their own life story, their feelings, and other people.

Since the programme began, many participants have experienced positive changes. Rebuilding confidence and hope. I remember every client and every story. Sometimes people come to the first session feeling completely overwhelmed. But later they begin to imagine possibilities again.

Even when external circumstances do not immediately change, therapy can help people see their lives differently. They become the narrators of their own life story again.

Sharing both the pain and the progress of my clients is deeply meaningful. My work brings sadness but also happiness; it is very powerful to see people finding their strength again and moving forward.

My daughter Emiliia was nine when we arrived in Ireland. Now she is 13. When I look at her, I realise how much time has passed and how much our lives have changed. In many ways, my story here is about trying to find stability in a very unstable world.

Liudmyla Nakonechna is a psychotherapist with the Irish Red Cross as part of an initiative supported by the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) that helps Ukrainian and Arabic-speaking forced migrants to access vital mental health support. This week is Refugee Week. Visit Refugeeweek.ie. 

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