People often ask me: "How did you become a psychologist?"
The answer is both simple and complex: through the field, through war, through my own trauma.
2005-2014: Entrepreneur and Farmer
Before the war, I was far from psychology. My own business, working the land, plans for the future. I was an entrepreneur and farmer. A life that seemed stable and predictable.
And then came 2014.
2014: ATO Volunteer
When the war started, I didn't think long. I went as a volunteer. Paramedic. Without military experience, without understanding what "the front" really meant.
First encounter with death. First person I couldn't save. First brother-in-arms I buried.
Nothing prepares you for this.
No courses, no training, no inner confidence. You just find yourself there – and try to endure.
I endured. But something inside me broke.
2016: Return
Coming home after war is a separate war.
You're physically here, but part of you is still there. Every sharp sound – an explosion. Every crowd – a threat. Sleep is not rest, but a battlefield in your head.
I didn't understand what was wrong with me. I thought "I just need to pull myself together." I thought "others manage."
But I wasn't managing.
And then I took the hardest step of my life – I asked for help.
Bodynamic International, Denmark. Shock trauma and PTSD. There I first heard words that described what was happening to me. There I first felt that this is not weakness. This is trauma. And it can be worked with.
And then I understood: I want to do this for others.
2019-2021: Training
IOM (UN) – focused counseling for veterans and families. EMDR Europe – certification in the gold standard for treating traumatic disorders.
I studied. Absorbed knowledge. Understood from personal experience every word in the textbooks.
The difference between me and many colleagues is simple: I don't know this theoretically.
I know what a trench smells like. I know what it's like to carry a brother. I know what it's like to sit at night thinking "why did I return when they didn't."
2022: Full-Scale War
And then came February 2022.
Full-scale invasion. And I went to the front again. Now as a military medic. Now knowing what awaited me.
It was harder. Because now I knew. Knew what would come after. Knew what I would bring home.
But I went. Because I couldn't do otherwise.
2023: My Own Healing
After the second return, I walked my own path of healing. Clinical psychology and trauma psychotherapy. Master's in psychology.
But most importantly – I went through therapy. Myself. As a client.
I moved from the role of victim to the role of witness.
This is a concept from Richard Tedeschi's book "Transformed by Trauma." A person who has experienced trauma can either remain a victim of circumstances – or become a witness who has something to transmit to others.
I chose the latter.
2024-2025: Coalition
Now I work in a coalition model: clinic + community + education.
- **Forest Glade** (Mental Health Center) – clinical base
- **Heal Ukraine Trauma** – education and training for therapists
- **UPRA** (Ukrainian Psychedelic Research Association) – research and advocacy
- **Group ketamine-assisted therapy** for veterans
This is not just work. This is a mission.
The Economist, BBC, Deutsche Welle write about our work. But for me, that's not what matters.
What matters are the people who come broken – and leave a little more whole.
What matters is the veteran community that supports each other. Peer-to-peer. Continuous integration.
Kintsugi Philosophy
Do you know the Japanese art of kintsugi? When broken pottery is mended with gold – and it becomes not just whole, but stronger and more beautiful in the broken places.
This is my philosophy.
Trauma is not something that simply needs to be "cured" and forgotten. It's something that can make you a deeper, stronger, wiser person.
Not despite the pain – but through it.
My path to psychotherapy wasn't straight. It went through fields, through trenches, through my own nightmares, through tears in therapy, through "I can't anymore" and "one more step."
And that's why I can sit across from a veteran – and not just listen, but hear.
Because I was there. Because I know. Because I walked this path.
And now I help others walk it.