First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska summarized the work of the Interagency Coordination Council on the Implementation of the National Mental Health Program in 2023. The final meeting of the council for the year took place with the participation of the President’s wife and was chaired by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
Participants included representatives of central executive authorities, heads of regional military administrations, members of parliament, representatives of the President’s Office, the Cabinet of Ministers' Coordination Center for Mental Health, and international partners.
In her speech, Olena Zelenska expressed gratitude to all for their work.
“There’s no need to explain that the mental health of our people is the very resilience – Ukrainian resilience – which has, on one hand, become legendary, but on the other hand, requires constant support. Everything depends on it,” emphasized the First Lady.
During the meeting, a mini-exhibition was held where international partners presented their projects focused on psychosocial support for the population in various regions, along with related services. Each of the 11 participating ministries provided interim results within the framework of the National Mental Health Program and presented their respective projects.
“A resilient nation starts with the individual. Therefore, the government’s task is to create conditions for personal development and the realization of all potential talents and abilities. We heard reports from ministries and heads of regional military administrations about the work done in this direction,” noted Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
One of the priority projects of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has triggered a large-scale transformation of the psychological support service within the department. The MIA is also a leader in systematically training its personnel in self-help and basic crisis support skills. Over the past year, more than 230,000 people have received psychological assistance from the National Police and the State Emergency Service. Additionally, over 3,000 people received direct on-site support in emergencies and crisis situations.
The Ministry of Justice is training specialists from legal aid centers and partners in self-help and crisis support skills and created a specialized online course. Nearly 1,000 specialists have already begun training.
The Ministry of Defense is continuing to reform the moral-psychological support system in the units of psychological support and military social work. Over 600 military psychologists have undergone advanced training, with half of them recruited through targeted mobilization.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports has launched a project for mental health recovery through physical activity: more than 775,000 participants have engaged in activities within the framework of “active parks,” over 43,000 cultural and recreational events have been held, 12,349 people have received psychological support services, and 88,530 children participated in psycho-emotional support sessions.
As part of the project by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, approximately 140 specialists from educational institutions in the field of arts education in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Dnipro, and Lviv have undergone first aid psychological training.
The Ministry of Veterans Affairs provided 13,533 consultations through the crisis support hotline of the Ukrainian Veterans Fund, while 59,344 psychological support services were provided by social-psychological rehabilitation centers, and 7,298 requests were processed through the MARTA software.
The Ministry of Education and Science has provided psychological support to participants in the educational process: 186,411 teachers and students have developed psychological support skills, psychological service specialists have provided 4,769,969 consultations, and 50,000 educators participated in supervision and intervision groups on various topics. Changes have been made and proposals have been submitted for regulatory acts, and 24 scientific-methodological materials have been developed.
The Ministry of Social Policy is developing a new social service for psychosocial support: 24 communities are already participating in the project, and plans are in place to involve an additional 130 communities. Training for 175 specialists has been organized through three training programs.
The Ministry for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories has created 25 regional coordination centers, 62 district-level centers, as well as 664 centers at the community level. In 14 regions, working groups have been established within coordination centers to provide mental health and psychosocial support services.
A priority project of the Ministry of Health has introduced a mental health support service at the primary care level – most family doctors in Ukraine can now provide this support.
Heads of regional military administrations in Kharkiv and Mykolaiv Oleh Syniehubov and Vitalii Kim shared successful cases of implementing mental health services at the regional level. In these regions, under constant shelling, people have to respond quickly and seek opportunities to provide psychological assistance to all who need it. In addition, evacuating people from dangerous areas and sheltering them is a constant challenge for these regions.
“I see successful results in the regions. Psychological trauma has the same characteristic as physical illness: the sooner you address it, the greater the chance for full recovery. But this is the peculiarity of our situation: every day brings a new challenge. To keep up, we need to move twice as fast,” noted Olena Zelenska.
The First Lady emphasized that an effective way to assess the mental health needs of Ukrainians is through sociological surveys. She referenced a survey conducted in preparation for the third Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, which took place in Kyiv on September 6, 2023. This year’s summit was fully dedicated to mental health in Ukraine and worldwide.
The British company Alligator Digital conducted a study on mental health and the way people think about it in 11 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Israel, Germany, Poland, the United States, Türkiye, Ukraine, Croatia, and Japan. A total of 11 thousand respondents aged 13+ were interviewed (1 thousand in each country).
“It turned out that people across different countries share the same fears and anxieties – from war to financial insolvency. I think not only Ukraine but other countries learned a lot as well. For example, the myth of youth resilience was shattered – young people are actually much more emotionally overwhelmed, 10% more than the older generation! This means we need to work proactively with them, not wait for them to knock on a psychologist’s door, because they might not. Going to a psychologist on your own remains a global problem for all age groups,” the First Lady said.
At the same time, research by Gradus Research showed that only 6% of people seek psychological help. The primary reason cited by 40% of respondents for not seeking help is the fear of not getting or losing their job, while over a third said it would negatively impact their reputation at work.
The First Lady emphasized that this represents another area for projects – not only for the state but also for responsible businesses: to help people understand that no one will judge or fire them, and that taking care of mental health is responsible.
During the Interagency Coordination Council meeting, it was noted that four in-depth studies on the impact of war on mental health have been conducted under the National Mental Health Program. These data have formed the foundation for the national agenda and contain proposals for all sectors.
A significant event is the creation of a dedicated Institute of Mental Health at the O.O. Bogomolets National Medical University, which will train specialists in response to current challenges. To form a common decision-making field, a target model of the system has been developed, which will become the basis for the law on mental health. Priority projects already being implemented in ministries are an integral part of this model.
To facilitate the successful transformation of the mental health sector and establish connections among all stakeholders, the Cabinet of Ministers established the Mental Health Coordination Center eight months ago. Since its formation, the advisory body has become a hub for developing a shared vision of transformation, integrating pilot initiatives and projects into a unified system. A multi-level decision-making system has been built, based on the best practices and real data, which is then integrated into state policy to set new standards. This process brings together ministries, regional administrations, communities, international partners, experts, and businesses – everyone who responds to the public's request for a system of psychosocial support.
One of the key focuses of the National Mental Health Program this year has been the development of regional coordination. Regional coordinators drive local processes and serve as key agents for implementing changes at the grassroots level, for communities and specific service providers. A needs assessment of service providers and users was conducted, gathering and processing 114,000 questionnaires nationwide. Additionally, a mapping of providers across all sectors (covering both state and non-state institutions) was completed. This marks the starting point for a comprehensive study of existing services and their integration into unified routes. In 90 communities across the country, it was found that there are no mental health services available at all.
“Next year should be the year of maximum expansion of your projects at the local level. These services must reach every Ukrainian, no matter how far they are from central areas. The first place a person will seek help is in their own community, so I propose that at the next Interagency Coordination Council meeting, we hear from communities about their cases and the implementation of mental health projects. But for all of you in various departments, this shouldn’t be a competition of ‘who does more or faster.’ Instead, it should be thoughtful, cooperative work. Where everyone is doing different things that complement, not duplicate, each other. Just like in saving the country, strength lies in unity,” noted the First Lady.
She stressed that the best mental health service is not the one that’s planned, but the one that’s provided and that helped.
“Always ask yourself if your project meets the needs of real life. Will it be easy to use? How will it change a person’s life? It shouldn’t just be about the process – it should be about results,” said the First Lady.
She wished the participants fruitful and effective implementation of their mental health projects in the coming year.
The communication campaign for the National Mental Health Program is being implemented with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and is available on the program’s "How Are You?" platform: https://howareu.com.