Ukraine will cooperate with Canadian centres specialising in working with veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The possibility of such cooperation was discussed by Minister of Health Viktor Liashko and First Lady Olena Zelenska with Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau during a visit to the Lisova Polyana Centre for Mental Health and Rehabilitation of Veterans of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

Canada is one of our country’s active partners, providing invaluable support during these difficult months of the russian-Ukrainian war. This support ranges from sheltering 200,000 of our internally displaced people to funding generators, protecting Ukraine’s energy system, and demining.

“Mental health is an issue that becomes particularly relevant amid the horrors of war that both our soldiers and civilians face every day. Indeed, Ukraine is going through a unique experience that we need to build on, while drawing on the best global expertise and best practices. We are working to ensure the provision of a full range of quality psychological rehabilitation services, as mental health is inextricably linked to physical health. Our soldiers protect us on the front line and we must take care of them here. I am grateful to Mr Trudeau for Canada’s attention and willingness to cooperate in this very important area for Ukraine,” said Minister of Health Viktor Liashko.

During the visit to the Lisova Polyana Centre for Mental Health and Rehabilitation of Veterans of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the parties discussed the possibility of implementing a new joint project – a medical partnership between Lisova Polyana and Canadian centres specialising in work with veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. The project will be implemented as part of the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Programme “How are you?”, which is being implemented at the initiative of the First Lady.

“We are delighted that Canada has been chosen as our state-level partner, as it is one of the leading countries in the study of mental health, including veterans and military personnel. Canada has a large number of world-renowned researchers who are implementing and exploring new influences and methods of working with trauma. This experience is very important to us. We have already worked with several Canadian specialists in recent years, and the new project will allow us to expand this network. Moreover, such cooperation allows us not only to learn from the Canadian experience, but also to share our experience of the past 9 years with Canadian specialists, as we have a rather unique context of the war in Ukraine today,” said Ksenia Voznitsyna, Director of the Lisova Polyana Centre.

As a reminder, the Lisova Polyana Centre for Mental Health and Rehabilitation of Veterans of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine is a unique model of psychological recovery that combines the best international standards of psychological care, innovative methods and an individual approach.