Projects

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  «Out of the Closed Circle» documentary film

  In 2021, Psychability created a 15-minute documentary film, «Out of the Closed Circle», аs a part of the program «Ukrainian CSOs for Change: Promoting Human Rights, De-institutionalization, and Social Integration of People with Intellectual and/or Psychosocial Problems». The total amount of project funding was 2,000 Euros. The documentary describes the current state of psychoneurological boarding houses in Kyiv and highlights the attitudes toward them of various parties involved in rehabilitation. At one time, psychoneurological boarding houses (PBHs) were the solution to the problem: a patient with a severe disorder was guaranteed shelter, food, clothing, and care. However, over the past 30 years, an extensive outpatient network of psychosocial rehabilitation has become an alternative to PBHs in the world. The documentary is by no means a call to close all PBHs. However, it contains the views of the clients, their relatives, and specialists on the client's needs. In this documentary, we tried to shift the focus from «supervision and care for the disabled» to «helping people live with dignity». After reviewing it, one can ask a simple question: «If this suddenly affected me, what would I choose?» You can watch the «Out of the Closed Circle» documentary film here:

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  Advocacy campaign for the «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» service

  The advocacy campaign for the creation of the «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» service lasted from April to December 2024 within the framework of the project «ZNAMI — change, teach, advocate, mentor inclusively", which is implemented by civil association «The League of the Strong” with the technical support of the UN — Women in Ukraine and funding from the UN Women's peace and humanitarian aid foundation (WPHF). The total amount of project funding was UAH 340,400. An «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» is a specialist who provides comprehensive individual support to a person with a mental disorder. A similar service successfully operates in developed countries under the name «Case Manager».@@1@@ As a result of mental disorders, a person's thinking is disrupted, and they become withdrawn and have a desire to isolate themselves from society, friends, and loved ones. The role of the Assistant is to become a link between society and a person with a mental disorder. Their primary task is to create a trusting contact with a person with a mental disorder. This is the basis for their further cooperation, in which an assistant helps them regain independence and improve their quality of life. The project team included people who are directly involved in the process: specialists with 20 years of experience in the successful rehabilitation of people with mental disorders and a fresh perspective on the problem, people with mental disorders or disabilities caused by these disorders, as well as their relatives. The project partners were the charitable foundations «Brilliant Mind» and «Ukrainian Social Protection», as well as the non-governmental organisations «Committee for Perfect Psychiatry» and «Association of Psychiatrists of Ukraine». As part of the advocacy campaign for the creation of the «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» service, we conducted a large-scale public opinion survey. It proved the low level of satisfaction of Kyiv residents with mental disorders with the available medical and social services, as well as the urgent need to reform the city's social services system.@@2@@ The research results are available here: @@https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eZ4EeE-CazGbhYKytxru-K1TyjqsfH73BbzRUyLEOP4/edit?usp=sharing@@ @@3@@ The results of the public opinion survey on the level of satisfaction of Kyiv residents with mental disorders with the available medical and social services were presented to the public on August 30, 2024, at a Media Center Ukraine briefing. The recording of the briefing is available here: @@https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWuxQ8FQKnc@@ Public discussions on the needs of persons with mental disorders were held on October 2, 2024, in the format of the round table «Ways to a barrier-free life for persons with mental disorders», at the press center of the Ukrainian national news agency «Ukrinform». The event was attended by representatives of the public sector, business, medical and social spheres, higher educational institutions, Kyiv city authorities, and, of course, people with mental disorders themselves and their loved ones. @@4@@ All participants agreed on the need to reform the capital's system of care and rehabilitation for people with mental disorders. The «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» service has become a response to the community's current needs. The intention for further cooperation in this direction was confirmed by the signing of the Round Table resolution: @@https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BS0MMWrE_n1-kKbp9FIOHsz6dNfyI1vk@@ Recording of the event is available here: @@https://www.youtube.com/live/xJ94uA1A3dU?si=BWsy-CMbueurTXO3@@ During a series of public and private meetings with representatives of Kyiv local government, we conveyed to them the needs of people with mental disorders. On October 9, 2024, members of the Psychability Board, Lidiia Martynova and Kostiantyn Zelenov, took part in a meeting of the Kyiv City Council Standing Commission on Healthcare, Family and Social Policy. This became possible thanks to the assistance of Bohdana Tymoshchuk, the Deputy Chairman of the Commission and member of the Kyiv City Council. We were also supported by Vitaly Nestor, a member of the Kyiv City Council, and Kateryna Vashchenko, his assistant lawyer. The Commission was presented with the Round Table «Ways to a barrier-free life for persons with mental disorders» Resolution and a presentation «Assistant to a person with mental disorders as a guarantee of barrier-free life». Members of the Commission sincerely responded to the proposals by deciding to review the Round Table Resolution at a joint meeting of NGO representatives and officials of the Department for Social and Veterans' Policy of the Kyiv City State Administration.@@5@@ On November 20, 2024, a meeting was held with representatives of the Department for Social and Veterans Policy of the Kyiv city state administration, which was initiated by the Kyiv City Council Standing Commission on Healthcare, Family and Social Policy. All departments of the Kyiv Social Service Centers network participated in this meeting. Psychability was legally supported by Kateryna Vashchenko, the assistant lawyer of Vitaly Nestor, who is a Kyiv City Council member. For more information on the meeting, please follow the link: @@https://www.facebook.com/psychabiliti/posts/pfbid0vDDYz29FeSg7QdbKDSJz13wMuGsr1yuBVD9dFdx74t9xFYYvoe4HekM2qAnTqiCsl@@ On December 3, 2024, a meeting was held with Maryna Poroshenko, the Chairwoman of the Kyiv City Council Standing Commission on Healthcare, Family and Social Policy. We fruitfully discussed the specifics of the «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» service, the implementation of which was supported by the majority of respondents in our survey. @@6@@ The meeting was facilitated by Ms. Bohdana Tymoshchuk, Member of the Kyiv City Council and Deputy Head of the Permanent Commission. Kateryna Vashchenko, assistant lawyer to Vitaliy Nestor, the Kyiv City Council member, provided us legal support. Maryna Poroshenko promised to consult with lawyers and representatives of the Ministry of Social Policy on the legal aspect of implementing the «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» service. For our part, we have pledged to describe in more detail the areas of responsibility of the «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» and develop a convenient procedure for ordering this service for clients. As part of the project, we also presented 3 stories of people with mental disorders, where the prototype of the «Assistant to a person with mental disorders» service played a decisive role in rehabilitation:

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  DAISI Ukraine Project — «Development and Integration of Community-Based Mobile Mental Health Services in Ukraine»

  The DAISI Ukraine project (Developing and Integrating Community Mental Health Services in Ukraine) commenced in June 2025 and is scheduled for four years. The project is implemented through a partnership between Queen Mary University of London and the Institute of Psychiatry at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, with the participation of London South Bank University and the Association of Psychiatrists of Ukraine. The project's objective is to contribute to the establishment of an effective, modern community support system in Ukraine for people with mental health conditions through the development of mobile multidisciplinary teams (MMTs). Participants in the project are individuals aged 18 to 65 who can provide informed consent for participation.@@1@@ Two representatives from our organization were involved in the project's development from its inception. Within the framework of DAISI Ukraine, we are not only subjects of research but also co-researchers and co-developers. Our experiences, understanding of our own situations, and the language we use to discuss them directly influence the questions posed in the research, the methods employed, and the project's outcomes. At the beginning of the project, Professor Iryna Pinchuk and Doctor Semen Gluzman, along with international experts in human rights and service user involvement, established the SUPER Group. This group included Lidiia Martynova, the Chairperson of the NGO "Psychability." From late September 2025 to the end of January 2026, the SUPER Group advisory body conducted approximately ten working meetings. The group's activities focused on ensuring meaningful and ethical involvement of people with lived experience in the project's implementation, as well as on generating high-quality feedback that could be integrated into research and project decisions.@@2@@ A significant area of the group's work involved providing consultation on approaches to conducting qualitative research. During discussions, SUPER Group members repeatedly emphasized the limitations of using exclusively digital data collection tools and the risks of losing depth and context in responses. Conversely, they highlighted the value of qualitative interviews, in-person meetings, and open-ended questions, which allow for a better understanding of users' experiences and consideration of their needs in future project activity planning. The SUPER Group's activities not only provided high-quality consultative support but also laid a practical foundation for expanding stakeholder participation and further developing the project in 2026. The model for developing mobile multidisciplinary teams is being created based on evidence-based science with a realistic approach to budgeting. An important component is the involvement of people with their own recovery experiences in the work of MMTs, following the "peer-to-peer" principle. This makes support more humane and effective. Within the project, MMTs already established in Ukraine will be evaluated, improved, and refined. The outcome will be the implementation of a national service specification – a National Standard.