Solutions from Ukraine: Okhmatdyt Hospital introduces music therapy program to restore child's psychological state in war conditions
Photo: Rubryka
At Ukraine's largest children's hospital, Okhmatdyt, a psychological rehabilitation session for children affected by Russia's aggression was held for the first time using music therapy.
"Now we are all under the influence of psychological pressure, under the influence of bad news, losses, disappointments and hopes, hefty losses. Children can't always express their feelings, but they feel it all 100%. When we treat children here, we approach the treatment comprehensively. Therefore, we were delighted when this project appeared, which aimed not only to investigate what happens to the psychology of a child affected by the war but also how music affects, what kind of music, and what happens before and after a music session." — general director of the hospital, Volodymyr Zhovnir, said.
The project is carried out by the Okhmatdyt Hospital, the Kyiv Classic orchestra, under the leadership of UNESCO Artist for Peace Herman Makarenko and with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
The program of psychological rehabilitation of children with the help of music therapy is designed for several months. During this time, there will be extensive sessions, like this time when over 40 children attended the event, as well as sessions for small patient groups and individuals. Hospital psychologists will investigate how music affects the psychological recovery of patients. Subsequently, the results of this experience are planned to be distributed among medical facilities for further use by specialists.
"The program was chosen in close collaboration with a group of psychologists–scientists – these are experienced experts that we showed a certain program to, with certain pieces of music, which they listened to and picked out the ones they wanted to be heard. The main condition was that these should be uplifting pieces of music that bring harmony and positivity.," said the project's initiator, UNESCO Artist for Peace, People's Artist of Ukraine, conductor of the National Opera of Ukraine Herman Makarenko.
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The Minister of Culture of Ukraine, Oleksandr Tkachenko, also welcomed the start of the project:
"The healing properties of music have been known since ancient times. It adjusts our souls, hearts, and brains to a high vibration. Harmonization, stitching us together from the inside, is what Ukrainians need today, who are going through the terrible trials of an imposed brutal war. Music therapy should become a component of supporting our mental and physical health."
Also, the Department of Security Police in the Kyiv region joined the organization of psychological recovery sessions for children at Okhmatdyt Hospital. Policewomen in uniform gave children balls, paints, and candies.
"The police perform the function of "serving and protecting" primarily for children, the future of Ukraine, and for the sake of children, the future of Ukraine. Usually, our projects are aimed at crime prevention. But today, we appear in a slightly different role. And we are very pleased to be a part of this event," said Anastasiya Kudrytska, representative of the Kyiv Region Security Police Department.
The first session is over, but the work of analyzing the results has just begun for psychologists.
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