Conversation: Psychosynthesis in wartime, Kyiv, Ukraine

Yegor Kucherenko in conversation with Eva Sanner

EVA: Your background as a therapist and how you came about psychosynthesis - what was attractive with psychosynthesis to you?

YEGOR: I came to psychosynthesis through the path of doubts, disappointments and spiritual decline. When I started my career 16 years ago, I was completely immersed in scientific psychology. I taught a course in social and educational psychology and experimental psychology. At the same time, I had a private consulting practice and I was always looking for different approaches and methods in working with adults, teenagers and couples. I used hypnosis, imaginative and behavioral techniques, and meditation, but all of these were only partial reflections of something bigger that I didn’t fully understand. I read a lot and accidentally got acquainted with the works of Roberto Assagioli, Piero Ferrucci, Tom Yeomans and Martha Crampton.

Then I quickly realised that psychosynthesis is primarily about me. About the real me. Thus, it was not completely accidental: it was the most valuable gift of fate. At that time, somewhere in 2009, I was going through a professional crisis. Scientific psychology did not explain the full spiritual aspects neither of my own life nor of the lives of my clients. But spiritual questions have always been with me since birth. During my school years I was a musician, wrote poems; during my student years I was a comedian for a while, but I was constantly focused on questions about the meaning of life, about the hereafter and the transcendent. That’s why I grew up very quickly. It was a problem and psychology became a salvation for my personality, and psychosynthesis – for my soul. That is why I began not only to study, but also to practice psychosynthesis on myself.

Later-on, I chose psychosynthesis as the main approach in the practice of psychotherapy. When I gained experience of my own changes, experienced my own age and personality crises, I realised that my clients always lacked exactly what psychosynthesis provides. I learned to be free from my social and professional statuses, from my childhood complexes, from dependence on the opinion of society.

My desire for success became the biggest trap that I fell into - a little boy who had a Soviet upbringing, speech problems, was always insecure, but at the same time talented. Thus, what attracted me most to psychosynthesis was that my traumas and my potential abilities were always in conflict. It was a conflict between the lower and the higher unconscious. Between my wounded self and my gifted self. I was caught up in the gifted self and that’s why I didn’t notice that it was just one of my false identities in which I was dying. Later, I went through a divorce, changed my place of work, and had psychosomatic problems. But I never had any doubt that I had psychosynthesis as a unique tool to overcome any difficulties. Even during the war.

EVA: How are you coping (as a school primarily) during the ongoing war in Ukraine?

YEGOR: As a school, we have dealt with the challenges of war in different ways. Now we are used to war and are in the stage of recovery and building plans for the future. In the first days of the war, my colleagues were sheltered in Kyiv for some time. Then our promoter and researcher of psychosynthesis Serhiy immediately began to update the groups in Telegram so that everyone was aware of verified news, not fake. Ukrainians are a media literate people. My family and I were near Kyiv and the main task was physical safety and working with stress. I know what it’s like to run for cover with a baby - instantly, but discreetly, without panic. Psychosynthesis helped me prepare for the start of the war, although we did not believe in such a fear. Now, as specialists, we constantly work with our supervisors and provide such support to other colleagues. We meet together, we constantly mail with colleagues who are abroad. For many of us, family and volunteer activities related to free psychological help have become the greatest resource. Work and music saved me personally when I was without my family and children for a long time. Although my colleagues were always with me.

EVA: So what is “Psychosynthesis in Wartime”? Can you tell me about the project.

YEGOR: This project is aimed at providing free psychological assistance to all victims. In March, we created a Telegram group where, using a chatbot, anyone could describe their request for consultation with our specialists. Privately or publicly. Psychologists, psychotherapists and doctors work in the project. We also provide the author’s recommendations for self-help during the war, when the client does not want to ask for help, but really needs it. In the format of videos, texts and audio recordings, we provide psychological support, offering only those psychosynthesis techniques that can be applied independently only under certain conditions. We are contacted by displaced persons, military personnel, and people who have experienced trauma from being in a war zone. Many have lost their homes and relatives, and are experiencing grief. Many have problems with relationships, the meaning of life, the crisis of being abroad, where immigrants do not know the language and do not have a job. There are also typical requests that are not directly related to war. You can support this project financially on our website, the link to which is in the chat.

EVA: What tools of psychosynthesis are most useful when it comes to meeting people who are traumatised by war? What tools are not at all recommendable to use?

YEGOR: Different psychosynthesis techniques are used at different stages of the war. There are a total of four psychological stages of war and each of them has its own problems. At the first stage – severe stress. This is a heroic stage. The power of fear and aggression is so incredible that you are constantly ready for the worst and, above all, for death. Breathing exercises, work with images, as well as disidentification, primarily with the body and negative emotions, are used here. It is also important to adjust sleep and nutrition depending on living conditions. We offer modified techniques of psychosynthesis, because, for example, in a stressful state, the client cannot carry out successive stages of disidentification. Therefore, it is carried out in a different way - usually instantly.

In March, at night, a rocket hit a house in the area where I live. This technique of disidentification and specific actions helped me. Ukrainians know well how to act consistently during a sudden danger. At the first stage, we learn to breathe, eat, sleep, feel our body and take care of safety for ourselves and loved ones. At this time, one must be constantly alert, and therefore neither specialists nor clients can practice deep meditation, especially during acute stress reactions, rumination, compulsive behavior and anxiety. My psyche is so tense that I was afraid of sound stimuli, such as the noise of a kettle, a car, and of course the sounds of anti-aircraft defense, which are similar to explosions. It is important to practise techniques of shifting attention, naming sensory perceptions, or grounding and identifying with positive thoughts and emotions.

In the second stage, often called the honeymoon stage or the stage of faith and togetherness, we felt optimism. The biggest problem here is that belief in victory overshadows the logic of your daily actions and attitudes. I emphasise daily actions, because it is the techniques of developing the will that help the most during war at all stages. It doesn’t matter what you do, just do it. The third stage, which was at the end of spring, turned out to be the most difficult. It is called wear and tear. At this stage, we worked with values, meanings of life, sub-personalities and the development of the will. We are now in the fourth stage, which is called “recovery and planning”. Almost all techniques of psychosynthesis are used here. But the client should not plan the future for the long term, because no one knows what may happen tomorrow. This also applies to migrants abroad.

To choose the ideal model of self-realisation, it is worth making sure that the client has access to real resources in the near future and is not in a state of waiting for victory as a condition for self-realisation. That is why our lives often last according to the principle of one day. And here such transpersonal qualities as faith, activity and calm help.

EVA: Describe the difference between working with persons still in Ukraine and persons who have fled to other countries?

YEGOR: There is no fundamental difference. People abroad and in Ukraine, just like in peacetime, have problems with fears, raising children, relationships with relatives, grief. However, the long-term stay of women and children abroad leads to the fact that men remain alone in Ukraine and this often leads to conflicts and divorces. It was also established that the further a person is from the place of hostilities, the lower his level of stress resistance. Someone who survived bombing and shelling is more resilient than someone who saw the ruins of houses and corpses only on the Internet. That is why, when Ukrainians now return to Ukraine, they experience adaptation to the sounds of the air alarm, which is accompanied by stress. Also abroad, the conflict between the desire to stay safe and return home to continue work and personal life is intensifying among refugees. Often, adults who are over forty are convinced that they will find a better life abroad, but this requires an extremely large effort to adapt in another culture, to learn the language, and to achieve a certain social status. Therefore, once again, we are talking about an act of will as a key phenomenon in our present.

EVA: If you would describe the situation you are in yourself, using psychosynthesis terminology, what would you say?

YEGOR: I will say this: the personal will of each of us is part of the will of the entire Ukrainian people. This expresses the synthesis of will and love, about which Assagioli spoke. When I love my people, I become strong-willed for the sake of saving everyone else first, not just myself. That is, it is sacrificial love. Love that prompts to be ready to take active action to help another. This is a vivid example of what is called an act of will in psychosynthesis. This act is always on the border between personal and transpersonal. And this act of will concerns not only Ukrainians, as we are actually fighting against evil in the world in general. If we were to lose now other peoples and countries would inevitably become victims of aggression. Assagioli said that even a small country that professes spiritual values can play the greatest role in the synthesis of nations. Now Ukraine is the unifying center of such a synthesis, if we speak in terms of psychosynthesis. The four letters that make up the word “will” in the Ukrainian language are even encrypted in our state coat of arms. I never knew about it. Now all of you – my colleagues in psychosynthesis – know about this.

EVA: How does psychosynthesis become in itself a support for you in the present situation?

YEGOR: In psychosynthesis, they often talk about presence, about contact with the reality of what is happening. I believe that every minute of my life is an eternity that has not already happened, but is happening right now. You can’t go back a moment to change anything about here, can you? Therefore, ”here and now” is always about eternity in the present time. I see such a profound meaning in this that the fear of death does not master me. Perhaps that is why the Bible says that “the kingdom of heaven is among us”. Buddhists do not believe in time as such. Assagioli used to say, “I don’t know if I’m going to die tonight”. Therefore, he urged to enjoy life, smile and serve people. That’s how I do it. I smile, although sometimes I cry. I help others and psychosynthesis is a tool for my help. This is also my support.

EVA: I often think that one important role for a therapist is to hold hope for the client. How is that possible in this situation? For the client and for the therapist? Is it necessary?

YEGOR: Be careful with hope. On the one hand, we all hope for the best. We are waiting not just for the end of the war, but for victory, when all the occupied territories of Ukraine will be liberated. Each part of Ukraine as a separate sub-personality in the structure of the whole country, the whole personality. It is important for both the client and the therapist to have hope, realising what really depends on them and what does not. We are all united more than ever because of the successes of our warriors. We have a very strong army. It is because of this that I am able to speak to you now. The main thing is that hope is not illusory. Even if the client dreams of a happy future, he always complements the feeling of hope with activity and action. Faith rather than hope is of primary importance. Faith plus will. Here is the formula for recovery and life extension.

EVA: In psychosynthesis we often talk about that events and crises are a way of the Self to make us more aware or conscious about who we are. When meeting a challenge like the war, how can we see that as a transpersonal challenge? Does it bring forth qualities in us that we were not aware of – and is that both in the good and bad sense?

YEGOR: Ukrainians say that the war showed the true self of each of us. In fact, we all find ourselves in the abyss between the lower and the higher unconscious. We discover both negative and positive qualities in ourselves. The period of war is not just a crisis, but a state of liminality, which I explore in my doctoral dissertation. We are all on the threshold of deep knowledge, in which we find fear and courage, hatred and love, wisdom and stupidity. For example, the majority found their own addiction to historical myths imposed on us by Russia. On the one hand, it’s a shame for being stupid all the time. On the other hand, it is a readiness for national self-assertion. That is why Ukrainians study history and deeply study their language. Being Ukrainian is not just about being fashionable: it is renewal in a time of crisis, in which the unknown scares the most. The unknown about oneself, one’s past, future. This is liminality: you expect victory, and at this time all the secret spiritual wounds and spiritual forces appear at the same time. That is why psychosynthesis helps us to orient ourselves in how to act, which path to choose.

EVA: The people of Ukraine have come together in a very special way during these months. Would you say something more about that from a transpersonal view?

YEGOR: Yes, the phenomenon of unprecedented unity is a Ukrainian phenomenon. I think that above all, faith, calmness and activity help us. We are very hardworking, stable, patient and spiritually rich. We have a spiritually rich history. More than three centuries ago, a prominent Ukrainian philosopher expressed ideas that resonate with the basic ideas of psychosynthesis. This is Hryhoriy Skovoroda. I have an article dedicated to Skovoroda and Assagioli. Assagioli said that spirituality is life, it is not an intellectual process. That is why surviving and living-on are the main tasks that we strengthen in the unity of the personal and the transpersonal. Everyone demonstrates his participation in the approach of victory: by his work. For example, I work in psychological practice and education. This is my contribution to victory. Ukrainians donate huge amounts of their own funds for the needs of the army. Therefore, it is not only about passive compassion in words, but about generosity. By the way, generosity as a transpersonal quality is unique to Ukrainians. I call it active empathy. But I would say that this quality is quite common for us. Today, peace, faith and will are in the first place. All this together is called peace.

EVA: Thank you Yegor.

Eva Sanner is a Swedish psychosynthesis therapist, author, and workshop leader, trained in ecopsychology and shamanic ceremonies. She is a board member of the European Psychosynthesis Association and EFPP former board member and chair of the Swedish StiftelsenPsykosyntesAkademin. For more about the EPA visit www.psychosynthesis-europe.com and about Eva visit www.evasanner.se

Yehor Kucherenko is a Psychologist, PhD, assoсiate professor and postdoctoral reseacher of Department of Psychology at Hryhorii Skovoroda University in Pereiaslav, Ukraine. A founder and leading trainer of High School for Psychosynthesis, a chairman of Ukrainian Association for Psychosynthesis Psychotherapy. Author of 6 books and more than 90 scientific publications.

About “Psychosynthesis in Wartime”

https://psychosynthesis.school/wartime

https://www.facebook.com/psychosynthesis.in.wartime

IAHIP 2023 - INSIDE OUT 99 - Spring 2023