The first year of sustained psychological support at Kyiv ORT* Lyceum #141 has concluded, marking a significant milestone in the school’s efforts to support the emotional well-being of students, parents, and teachers amid ongoing war-related challenges. Made possible through the support of the Zimin Foundation, the program provided individualized mental health assistance throughout the 2024–2025 academic year and laid the groundwork for a longer-term, system-wide approach across the ORT Ukraine network.

At Kyiv ORT Lyceum #141, the program was implemented under the theme “Psychological Support and Psycho-Emotional Relief: Restoring Resources Through Art.” From September 2024 through June 2025, a dedicated team of six psychologists provided one-on-one consultations, addressing trauma-related anxiety, learning difficulties, emotional burnout, and low self-esteem. Special attention was given to children with special educational needs within inclusive education settings. In total, 147 individuals (81 students and 66 adults) received personalized psychological support, with 523 counseling sessions conducted over the course of the school year (424 with students and 99 with adults).

This effort was part of a broader psychological support project launched across the ORT Ukraine school network, including schools in Kyiv, Odesa, Chernivtsi, and Bila Tserkva. The network-wide initiative aims to mitigate the deep and growing emotional impact of war through individual counseling, group therapy, art-based interventions, and psychoeducational programming.

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Results to Date

The psychological consultations had a significant impact on the well-being of students, parents, and educators. School psychologist Oksana shared her experience that reflect the depth and complexity of the work carried out:

“I really like my job. Because I provided not only psychological support, but also professionally assisted all participants in the educational process who asked me for help with individual consultations in this difficult time for us, in the conditions of martial law in our country.”

Oksana emphasized the severe psycho-emotional toll of prolonged stressors such as shelling, loud explosions, and the constant anticipation of danger. These conditions have impacted not only emotional well-being but also the cognitive development of young learners. Many parents sought help for stress-related behaviors in their children, including anxiety, withdrawal, and self-harming habits such as nail-biting. She stressed the importance of systematic, long-term, and individualized psychological assistance — not only for treating emotional difficulties, but also for preventing trauma escalation, supporting learning capacity, and fostering stability in the school community.

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Looking Ahead

While the individual psychological consultations at Kyiv ORT Lyceum #141 have proven deeply impactful, they are just one part of a broader ORT Ukraine network-wide initiative. Given the growing and persistent demand for mental health support across all ORT schools in Ukraine, the program is planned to expand further in the 2025–2026 school year—bringing vital emotional care and resilience-building services to even more students, parents, and educators

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* Following its exclusion through much of the Soviet era, ORT returned to Ukraine in the early 1990s. In August 2000, ORT and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine signed a memorandum to formalise cooperation in the fields of general, elementary, and secondary professional education. The first ORT school opened in Kyiv shortly after this point. Since then ORT has made a major impact on the quality of its Jewish schools in the country and the Jewish communities in which those schools are located, providing Jewish people with excellence in education for all ages, from preschoolers to the elderly. 

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Photo: https://www.ortlyceum.kiev.ua/galleries/

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