Information about the project team

Allan Guggenbühl – Jungian analyst, Individual IAAP Member, professor, Doctor of Psychology, psychotherapist, Director of the Institute of Conflict Management (IKM) in Zurich. The author of the Mythodrama method. Founder and director of «Nergi»: Helping traumatized children and adolescents in Georgia – Implementation of group therapeutic work and training of psychologists in Georgia. He implemented and now supports a project that uses the Mythodrama method to help children and adolescents affected by the Russian-Georgian war.
https://allanguggenbuehl.com/

Milena Sotirova-Kohli – supervisor of the project, Dr. phil., was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. She earned an M.A. in Japanese Studies from the University of Sofia, Bulgaria; an M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology from Texas A&M University; and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Basel. Dr. Phil. Milena Kohli is a Jungian Analyst and Psychotherapist with a Diploma in Jungian Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy from the C. G. Jung Institute – Zürich. She worked as a psychotherapist in the Praxis of Dr. med. Norbert Schütz in Bern and Fribourg with children, adolescents, and grown-ups, from 2014 until 2022. She led Therapy Groups for Children and Adolescents from 2011 to 2023 in the Psychological Services of the Kanton Bern. She supervised the clinical internship of Master’s Students in Psychology in Group Therapy during the same period. Her special focus in the group therapy is the method Mythodrama, developed by Allan Guggenbühl. She currently works as a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst recognized by the Swiss Health Insurance in her private practice in Bern. Dr. Phil. Milena Sotirova-Kohli lives with her family in the Kanton of Bern, Switzerland.

Nino Siradze – supervisor of the project, M.A. Jungian Analyst. Nino Siradze was born in Tbilisi, Georgia. She earned an M.A. and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Psychology at Ilia State University in Tbilisi.
She works as a psychotherapist and certified Jungian analyst for adults in a private practice. She has been teaching at several universities in Tbilisi. Nino Siradze has translated and published Helene-Hoerni Jung’s book, C.G. Jung’s daughter’s, “Das Bild des Weiblichen,” from German into Georgian. She is a member and board member of the Georgian Association for Analytical Psychology and the Georgian Group Psychotherapy Association.
Besides her clinical practice, Nino Siradze is also working at the Red Cross, with more than 14 years of experience in crisis intervention and Psychosocial Support (responding to armed conflict and natural disasters).
She has been trained in Mythodrama group therapy and has been working with children and adolescents in several contexts using the Mythodrama method since 2009. Additionally, she taught the Mythodrama method to a Chinese group of psychologists alongside Allan Guggenbühl in 2017 and 2023.

Oksana Zaleska – coordinator of the project, Jungian analyst, child psychotherapist, PhD in Psychology, member of the Ukrainian Association of Analytical Psychology (UAAP of IAAP), member of the Professional Association of Children`s Analytical Psychologists (PAChAP). Senior expert, psychotherapist, and supervisor of the Mental Health Centre at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
She has been working with adults, adolescents, and children for over 30 years, and in the past 11 years, she has been working with the effects of the war. She adapted the Jungian method of Serial Drawing for use in emergencies for children affected by the war. She is a co-author of the “Safe Space” psychosocial program, which has been implemented in Ukraine within the education system since 2015 and is aimed at providing support and preventing PTSD in children.
She aspires to develop a system of world-class psychosocial and psychotherapeutic assistance in Ukraine.

Natalia Opryshko – an analytically oriented psychologist with more than 20 years of experience. Member of the Professional Association of Children`s Analytical Psychologists (PAChAP). Since 2014, she has been working with various populations – children, adults, IDPs, veterans – in the field of mental health and psychosocial support for people affected by the military conflict. She has been a psychotherapist and supervisor at the Mental Health Center of NaUKMA since 2022.
Trainer of the mhGAP program – a WHO program aimed at expanding access to treatment of PNPS disorders at non-specialized facilities for health professionals. CETA consultant/supervisor (one of the cognitive behavioral therapy approaches by Johns Hopkins University). She combines in her practice an existential humanistic approach, analytical psychology, modern psychoanalysis, and mindfulness. The key methods that she uses in working with children: Serial Drawing, “Safe Space”, Expressive Sandwork. She aspires to apply her acquired experience and contribute to developing a system of psychosocial and psychotherapeutic assistance in Ukraine.

Lyudmyla Romanenko is an analytically oriented psychologist with more than 20 years of experience. Member of the Professional Association of Children`s Analytical Psychologists (PAChAP). Since 2014, she has been working in mental health and psychosocial support for people affected by the military conflict. She works with various categories: children, adults, IDPs, and veterans. She has been a psychotherapist and supervisor at the Mental Health Center of NaUKMA since 2016.
CETA consultant/supervisor (one of the cognitive behavioral therapy approaches by Johns Hopkins University). She combines in her practice an existential humanistic approach, analytical psychology, modern psychoanalysis, and CBT. The key methods that she uses in working with children: Serial Drawing, Expressive Sandwork; programs: “Safe Space”, “Children and war”.

Olena Solovyova – Jungian analyst, member of the Lithuanian Association of Analytical Psychology, member of the Ukrainian Association of Analytical Psychology (UAAP IAAP).
She has long experience of working with children of service persons and internally displaced children, with children who have chronic diseases.
While cooperating with various international projects, she contributed to writing manuals on social and psychological work with children and adults.
She has extensive experience in training across various participant groups.
Currently, she leads support groups for educators and parents on Healing Techniques during the War.
She aspires to preserve hope and improve the world by introducing global best practices into her work with people.

Svitlana Snitko – an analytically oriented psychologist, child psychotherapist, and member of the Professional Association of Children’s Analytical Psychologists (PAChAP).
She has been working with children and adolescents for over 20 years. She has sufficient experience in conducting psychological groups for children and adolescents.
A leader of psychotherapeutic groups for children who experienced traumatic events. In her work, she uses the Jungian method of Serial Drawing, “Safe Space”, and Sandplay.
She tries to provide psychotherapeutic and psychosocial help to children, adolescents, and their parents in overcoming trauma and recovery after the events they experienced, relying on international best practices.

Yevhenia Demyanova – an analytically oriented psychologist. More than 17 years of experience working with children and adults (teachers, parents). Since 2014, she has been working in the field of mental health and psychosocial support for people affected by the military conflict: children, adults, IDPs, and veterans. She has been a psychotherapist and supervisor at the Mental Health Center of NaUKMA since 2022. CETA consultant (one of the cognitive behavioral therapy approaches by Johns Hopkins University). She combines in her practice an existential-humanistic approach with modern psychoanalysis. The key methods that she uses in working with children: Serial Drawing, “Safe Space”, Expressive Sandwork.

Oksana Pirkhal – Jungian analyst – member of the Ukrainian Association of Analytical Psychology (UAAP of IAAP), child psychotherapist, member of the Professional Association of Children`s Analytical Psychologists (PAChAP).
She has been working with children for over 20 years. In the past 11 years, she has been working on the effects of the war. She uses Sandplay therapy in her work. In 2015, she was trained in crisis counseling by the UN in Asia (Critical Incident Stress Management Unit I CISMU I Division of Specialized Operational Support (DSOS) and in Stress and Trauma Response International Psycho Education, Gershanoff Alexander, in 2022.
She aspires to develop a system of psychosocial and psychotherapeutic assistance in Ukraine in the context of the military invasion.

Valentyna Samus – Jungian analyst, member of the Lithuanian Association of Analytical Psychology, member of the Ukrainian Association of Analytical Psychology (UAAP IAAP).
Her background is counseling in rehabilitation clinics, training public sector social workers and psychologists, as well as providing sexual education.
Valentyna has worked on developing and implementing rehabilitation programs in penitentiary facilities as part of Ukraine’s prison reform. She is also the author of a training course on sexual education for schools, aimed at teens aged 12-16. Working for Ukrainian NGOs, she has developed manuals and provided training for HIV+ children and their caregivers, representatives of transgender community, self-help groups, and school teachers.
She has also provided supervision for managers of public organizations and teacher supervisors, supported the implementation of training programs at schools, supervised groups of psychologists, and overseen supervisors of hotline consultants.
Valentyna Samus is currently the President of the Ukrainian Developing Group.