Hosted by Sonita Mbah. Produced by J'aime Rothbard.
How can we heal collective trauma when war is creating fresh trauma day after day? And what are the resources that can sustain us even in the most painful of circumstances?
In this episode, Daria Yemets, a psychologist who runs the Pocket Project's Ukraine Trauma Relief Project , speaks about the organisation's work to support for her fellow Ukrainians since Russia's invasion in February, 2022.
Daria explains that the Pocket Project began by offering more than 100 Ukrainians scholarships to courses in trauma-informed leadership, and then expanded to provide one-on-one and group sessions to those experiencing psychological trauma. Then the Pocket Project introduced a form of peer-led, community-based space known as a 'resilience circle' to rapidly scale the programme's reach.
"What I sensed living in Ukraine at that time is that war is insanely isolating and it just locks you in your own space," Daria tells co-host Sonita Mbah. "So we sensed this need for safe spaces for people to connect. And this is what we've been doing with resilience circles."
Daria speaks powerfully about her commitment to cultivating an interior peace that has allowed her to stay related to herself and others despite the frozenness and numbing caused by the immense toll of death and destruction inflicted by the war.
"Everything can be taken away from me apart from this space inside me that I create for myself by really putting in thought, time, and attention — we could also say energy, love, care, beauty," Daria says. "I'm like a bird creating a nest from different twigs with such care and precision, creating that nest inside me, creating that garden. I try to create my inner space that cannot be taken away under any circumstances."
Daria also speaks about her deep sense of connection to Ukraine's forests and steppes, the grief she feels at how much damage the natural world has also suffered from the war, and her commitment to supporting her homeland to heal.
This episode is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand more about how trauma-informed approaches are being used to provide support to people suffering some of the most difficult circustances imaginable.
Daria's testimony about her personal process is also a powerful reminder of the possibility we each carry of cultivating a sanctuary of inner peace to sustain us through the challenges of an increasingly uncertain world.
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About Daria Yemets:
Daria Yemets is a psychologist and researcher, born in Kharkiv, Ukraine. She works in the field of collective and transgenerational trauma and maintaining historical truth in Ukraine. Daria leads the development of the Pocket Project Ukraine Support Project. Since the Russian invasion in 2022, she has been coordinating international support for Ukrainian therapists and healthcare specialists.
