On July 5, a coordination meeting of the network of the “Taking Care of Myself” psychosocial support spaces was held in Kyiv. The event gathered participants from different parts of Ukraine to discuss the first experience, further development, and collaboration on developing a system of mental health and psychosocial support services.
The meeting was opened by Marta Melnyk, the PHS R&R mental health team lead. She presented the main activities of the Project, its achievements, and prospects for development.
The teams of the “Taking Care of Myself’ spaces, which started delivering services in March-April this year, shared their successful experiences, challenges and barriers they faced, and plans for the future with the teams of the territorial communities where such spaces are being launched soon. Participants had the opportunity to learn more about the activities of the spaces, cross-sectoral cooperation, coverage, and demand for mental health services.
To enhance the capacity of the spaces to provide psychosocial support services, PHS R&R arranged a teleconference with a concurrent event, namely a kick-off meeting of partner NGOs that have received support from PHS R&R in the mental health care field. The teleconference is anticipated to mark the outset of a long-term cooperation between the “Taking Care About Myself” spaces and these NGOs.
During the teleconference, Olha Horbaniova, a mental health expert at the CMU Coordination Center for Mental Health, presented an overview of the plans and priorities of the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program “How Are You?” initiated by the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska.
Then the participants were engaged in a panel discussion on delivering mental health services and psychosocial support to veterans. The panelists included representatives of the NGO “Resource Center ‘Lisova Polyana’ (Lesia Bondarenko), NGO ‘Space of Opportunities’ (Oksana Kolyada), and NGO ‘Return to Peaceful Life’ (Andriy Semenov). Tetyana Kiriazova, the PHS R&R mental health advisor, moderated the discussion.
Larysa Kurashyna, the communications officer, PACT, held a session on proper and ethical communication, and effective methods of delivering information about the work of the spaces.
The meeting ended with a lively discussion of how to talk about mental health and how to integrate a trauma-informed approach into the workflow of the “Taking care of myself” spaces.
In conclusion, the participants highlighted the importance of the community of practice meetings for the development of the “Taking care of myself” network. These meetings facilitate the exchange of experience, the establishment of new contacts, and the building of community-level mental health systems.
