Ukrainian psychologist in UAE offers free therapy for those affected by Russian attack

Dr Ola Pykhtina, from a part of Ukraine under direct bombardment, wants to help people deal with anxiety and feelings of powerlessness as conflict rages on

Dr Ola Pykhtina, a licensed psychologist, art and play therapist at the Thrive Wellbeing Centre in Jumeirah Lakes Towers in Dubai, has lived in the UAE for seven years. Pawan Singh / The National

A Ukrainian psychologist is offering free group therapy sessions for her fellow citizens living in the UAE who have been affected by the Russian attack on its neighbour.

Dr Ola Pykhtina, a licensed psychologist, art and play therapist based in Dubai, said the virtual sessions are designed to help people process their feelings as Ukraine reels from the Russian bombardment with civilians killed and buildings destroyed.

She said people should not be afraid to seek support because they will be able to help their children, community and family members back home.

People should not be afraid to seek psychological support, especially at this time. It is normal.

Dr Ola Pykhtina

The sessions are also open to Ukrainians and Russians, many of whom, as she points out, do not support the attack.

“We got all sorts of responses for that, but the intention was to support people in this situation to unite to see each other,” said the psychologist with Thrive Wellbeing Centre in Jumeirah Lakes Towers.

“Of course it triggers all sorts of reactions. Not everyone in Russia is Putin,” she said.

“But when people are under threat, when their homes are bombed, it’s very difficult to think straight, logically, because we become emotional.”

Dr Pykhtina is from Nikolayev, in the south of the country, where the train station and a military base near her parents’ house have been struck.

Her advice to fellow Ukrainians and others affected is to try to stay calm, hopeful and connected.

“And when I say to stay connected, what I mean is to stay connected to your own humanity,” she said, pausing to compose herself.

“And stay connected to each other and your community, with friends and family. It doesn’t matter what country the come from, whether they are English, British, Russian, Polish or Ukrainian.”

She initially asked herself whether she was capable of holding the groups, creating a space for people to express their emotions, while addressing a topic which is personally painful for her.

“Of course it is not easy,” she said.

“But it does not stop me. It is better to understand people, what they are going through and what they are saying. The idea is to create a safe space for people to express their emotions to see how others are dealing with that.

“I want to give some tools so people can use tools for stress management, for anxiety management, and calming down that emotional brain you just witnessed in me, also.”

Dr Pykhtina, who works with young people through art and play-based therapy, is also holding sessions to teach people how to talk to children about the war, as it can be particularly hard for them to understand.

“I think what we as adults tend to do is we feel the pressure of having an answer, and one answer.

“And I think we forget it’s OK to say ‘I don’t know, I am figuring it out with you.’ And asking them, ‘what do you think is happening?’” she said.

Dr Ola Pykhtina, from part of Ukraine under direct attack, asked herself whether she was capable of holding the groups while addressing a topic which is personally painful for her. 'Of course it is not easy,' she says. Pawan Singh / The National

She said that by asking the question, they get the opportunity to voice their fears, some of which will be irrational. Because children do not understand, they come to conclusions and they can, especially if they are younger, think it will go on for ever.

“If they don’t voice it there is no opportunity to reassure them, to process it. So it will be suppressed,” she said.

Parents should start by asking their children why they think it is happening. There is no need to provide a logical, concrete answer, she said.

“It’s more about admitting this is a tragedy happening and a difficult situation. People are trying to come together to stop it,” said Dr Pykhtina.

People should not be afraid to seek psychological support, especially at this time. It is normal, she said.

“It doesn’t mean there is something terribly wrong with you if you are seeking help, because I think that is something stereotypical.”

Sessions will be held for those affected on March 7 and 8, from 10am to 11am and 3pm to 4pm, as well as March 3 and 10, from 3pm to 4pm for parents to learn how they should speak to their children about it.

They will be available in Ukrainian, Russian and English and interested people can email [e-mail] to register.

Russia attack on Ukraine — in pictures

Ukrainian fighters test an automatic grenade launcher taken from a destroyed Russian infantry vehicle in Kharkiv. AFP

Refugees from Ukraine rest after arriving at a railway station in Przemysl, Poland. AP

People walk down 17th June Street in Berlin before a rally against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. AP

Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kiev and former heavyweight boxing champion, right, and his brother, Wladimir. AP

Khreshchatyk, Kiev’s main street, lies empty as a curfew comes into effect. AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to the nation from Kiev. AP

On February 27, the seventh anniversary of the assassination of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, a note stating ‘No to war!’ is placed among flowers on the central Moscow bridge on which he was shot. AFP

A member of the Ukrainian forces, wearing the Guy Fawkes mask popularised by Anonymous, patrols central Kiev. AFP

Sviatoslav Yurash, 26, a politician from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party, poses with his assault rifle as he patrols Kiev. AFP

A Ukrainian serviceman and his dog look at smoke from a burning fuel storage depot after a Russian missile attack near Kiev. EPA

A refugee who fled conflict in Ukraine rests at a railway station after arriving in Zahony, Hungary. AP

A refugee boy who fled Ukraine cries at the railway station in Zahony, Hungary. AP

Civil defence members eat during a break at City Hall in Kiev. AP

An Indian student is embraced by his family at Chennai Airport after returning from Ukraine. EPA

Smoke is seen rising from behind buildings following bombings in Kiev. Getty

An armed civil defence woman holds a Kalashnikov assault rifle while patrolling an empty street in Kiev. AP

A woman fleeing from Ukraine cries as she waits to be taken to a shelter in Zahony, Hungary. Reuters

Ukrainian refugees cross the Romanian border at Siret, northern Romania. EPA

A residential building damaged by shelling in Kharkiv, north-eastern Ukraine. AFP

Apartments damaged by shelling in Kharkiv. AFP

A girl protests against Russia's military operation in Ukraine, in front of the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv. AFP

Young women protest in Tbilisi, Georgia with their hands painted in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Getty

Supplies for Ukrainian refugees at one of three camps set up at the MoldExpo exhibition center, in Chisinau, Moldova. EPA

Police detain a demonstrator during a protest against Russia's incursion into Ukraine in St Petersburg. AP

A man waits at a bus stop in St Petersburg, which has been with a painted in the colours of Ukraine's national flag. EPA

Russian ground forces approaching Nova Kakhovka, southern Ukraine. AP

A woman holds her daughter's hand as they arrive by bus from the Polish-Ukrainian border. Getty

A man drives his car full of food supplies to deliver to the Ukrainian side of the border, where thousands wait to enter Poland. Getty

Refugees arrive with buses from the Medyka pedestrian border crossing, in Przemsyl, eastern Poland. AFP

People gather to catch a train and leave Ukraine for neighboring countries at the railway station in Lviv, western Ukraine. AP

Cars form a line that stretches 35 kilometres from the Shehyni border crossing to Poland as people try to flee Russia's military operation against Ukraine. Reuters

Helena, right, and her brother Bodia, left, from Lviv, wait at the Medyka border crossing in eastern Poland. AFP

A Ukrainian soldier walks past debris of a burning military truck, on a street in Kiev. AP

People run for cover during the shelling on the city of Kiev. AP

A child refugee who fled the conflict in Ukraine covers her face in the event hall of a hotel offering shelter in Siret, Romania. AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy holding a briefing in Kyiv. He said that Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan have suggested talks with Russia, which 'can only be welcomed'. AFP

Ukraine's ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, at a news conference in the embassy of Ukraine, Washington. AP

Manchester City footballers wear t-shirts in support of Ukraine before a match. Reuters

Ukrainian refugees arrive in Warsaw by train from Kiev. EPA

A woman waves a Ukrainian flag during a rally in Times Square, New York City. AFP

A man sits next to his dogs in an underground car park turned into a bomb shelter during an air raid alert in Kiev. AP

A woman sleeps on chairs in a Kiev bomb shelter. AP

A satellite image with overlaid graphics shows military vehicles alongside the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Reuters

A satellite image shows the effects of shelling in open fields along Soborna Street in the north-east suburbs of Kharkiv. Reuters

A big fire at a petroleum storage depot after a Russian missile attack, in Vasylkiv, near Kiev. EPA

Ukrainian servicemen take positions at a military airbase in the Kyiv region. Reuters