On June 11, 2025, at the University’s Center for Contemporary Art, Olena Ostrogliad, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Fine Arts, and Lesia Klevaka, PhD in Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, and Acting Head of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, held another art therapy session titled “Circle of Trust”. The event aimed to unlock the participants’ creative potential through collective interaction and to strengthen mutual trust. Its core idea was to help each participant open up creatively and learn to trust others through the process of co-creation. This is especially relevant in today’s world, where individualism often prevails over collaboration, and trust is becoming an increasingly scarce resource.
The art practice, organised in a group interaction format, provided a safe space for experimentation, self-expression, and emotional connection. The content of the session was built around the collaborative creation of group drawings as a tool for building trust.
The process unfolded in several stages:
- The first participant made the initial strokes or applied colours to a sheet of paper, laying the foundation for the future artwork. This required courage to begin something that others would later continue.
- The next participant picked up the work, interpreting the existing elements and adding their own. It was crucial here to demonstrate flexibility and a willingness to incorporate others’ ideas into one’s vision.
- The final participant gave the drawing a finished appearance. Their task was to take responsibility for the final result and to unify all the previous contributions in a harmonious manner.
Each stage demanded not only creativity but also deep trust in others. Participants had to relinquish control over their ideas and allow others to freely develop them, without knowing the outcome. This became a powerful experience in letting go of perfectionism, embracing unpredictability, and a meaningful step toward developing personal flexibility and psychological resilience.
The atmosphere during the session was filled with cooperation, support, and positivity. Participants actively engaged in the process, exchanging ideas – albeit nonverbally, through drawings – observing the transformation of the artworks, laughing, and being amazed by the unexpected visual outcomes. It was evident that while some initially hesitated to begin, seeing others respectfully continue their work boosted their confidence.
Each completed drawing became a unique reflection of collective creativity – a visual story about trust, interaction, and shared creation. These works proved that even without words, it is possible to create something harmonious and meaningful, provided there is openness and a willingness to collaborate.
The “Circle of Trust” art therapy session is a vivid example of how art therapy can effectively address psychological challenges and foster the development of social skills. Participants not only experienced aesthetic pleasure from the creative process but also deepened their understanding of the importance of trust in both interpersonal and group relationships.
This session marked another meaningful step in the implementation of the Erasmus+ KA220-ADU TRUST project – Trauma of refugees in Europe: An approach through art therapy as a solidarity program for Ukraine war victims (Grant No. 2024-BE01-KA220-ADU-000257527). The project is co-funded by the EU and led by the Centre Neuro Psychiatrique St-Martin from Belgium, in partnership with the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” (Ukraine), Greek Carers Network EPIONI (Greece), Fondazione Don Luigi Di Liegro (Italy), Lekama Foundation (Luxembourg), EuroPlural Project (Portugal).
The previous sessions included symbolic activities such as designing personal coats of arms to represent inner values, sources of strength and hope; associative drawing exercises; the “Relationships” activity aimed at reflecting on personal connections with loved ones, community, and country; discussions around “What does mental health mean to me?”; neurographic drawing; and immersion in body-oriented therapy where movement, dance, and physical expression become key tools for emotional release and recovery, worked with metaphorical associative cards, practiced associative reflection of thoughts on paper and explored the symbolism of the elements of nature and their direct impact on the human psyche and emotional state, plunged into music and daram therapy and took part in a unique art therapy session on neurography titled “My Tree of Life”, worked with metaphorical cards and the Nossrat Pezeshkian psychotherapeutic model, сreated drawings depicting a personal “Tree of Power”, did the art therapy exercise “My superpower”, were given tools for deeper self-understanding by transforming pain into art, and art into a path to healing; helped children recognise and understand their emotions, learn self-soothing techniques, and restore their emotional resilience.
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