News
16.05.2025
The first mental health center of the nationwide network RETURNING, founded by Victor and Olena Pinchuk, opened in Dnipro
A modern and comfortable mental health center for military personnel, veterans, and their family members has started operating in the city of Dnipro. This is the first center of the nationwide network RETURNING (ukr. POVERNENNYA), founded by Victor and Olena Pinchuk to support Ukraine’s security and defense forces. Every year, more than 4,000 defenders of Ukraine and their family members will be able to receive comprehensive mental health support here.
At the first stage of the project, it is planned to create at least 25 RETURNING centers across Ukraine, which will be able to provide free and professional assistance to more than 105,000 heroes annually.
The new center has been established on the premises of one of Dnipro's key medical institutions — a city that, from the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, became a central hub for assistance to both military and civilians. Here, some of the most powerful medical teams are working, saving lives every day.
During a meeting with specialists at the RETURNING rehabilitation center, Victor Pinchuk recalled how last year he and his wife Olena visited Heroes in RECOVERY centers and asked what their next step in supporting the Heroes could be. All military personnel confirmed the need for psychological support.
“We understand that everyone in the country needs psychological support now — I believe it’s millions of people. But it’s hardest for our Heroes — they are there, on the front lines, constantly risking their health, and unfortunately losing their brothers- and sisters-in-arms, and their families also need this support. That’s why we took the first step — this year, I hope we will open at least 20 RETURNING mental health centers,” said the network’s founder.
All centers in the nationwide RETURNING network are created by philanthropists on the basis of state and municipal medical institutions. Within the project, capital renovation was carried out on the first floor of the main building of the Dnipro clinical hospital, and a modern, comfortable mental health center was created, meeting global standards of inclusivity.
To ensure maximum comfort in the RETURNING mental health center, a barrier-free space was created: wide doorways, no thresholds, anti-slip flooring, inclusive restrooms with enough space for wheelchair users, showers with seats and handrails. The center includes a reception, offices for individual and family psychological support, a group therapy room, a treatment room, and staff facilities, as well as a day patient ward.
The Dnipro RETURNING center will provide psychotherapy using methods such as cognitive behavioral therapy, trauma-focused psychotherapy, the gestalt approach, crisis counseling, narrative therapy, and family counseling. In addition, RETURNING center clients will be able to receive psychiatric care in accordance with modern clinical treatment protocols.
The center's specialists provide assistance to individuals experiencing PTSD, anxiety and depressive conditions, adaptation difficulties, and other consequences of traumatic events. To ensure comprehensive mental health support, each center operates with a multidisciplinary team that includes psychiatrists, psychologists, case managers, psychotherapists, nurses, and social workers.
“We help a person restore wholeness after an experience that shattered them into fragments. Comprehensive support is provided by a multidisciplinary team that sees not only the disorders but also the personal story, pain, and path to recovery. In our work, we use evidence-based methods of treatment, psychological counseling, and psychotherapy: cognitive behavioral therapy, gestalt, trauma-focused therapy, stabilization techniques, self-regulation, and crisis counseling. We pay special attention to creating a comfortable atmosphere for full recovery in a safe, barrier-free environment,” said Yana Syahaylo, head of the Dnipro RETURNING center.
The center’s equipment meets modern standards of mental recovery: a massage vibration chair — the Shiftwave System (USA), a general wellness and stress management device that stimulates the nervous system through pulsating waves, helping reduce stress and improve well-being; equipment for offices and reception, art therapy materials, anti-stress toys, yoga mats, tactile tools, and more. Among the available resources is professional literature on psychology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy.
The founders of the RETURNING network, Victor and Olena Pinchuk, are convinced that high-quality mental recovery is possible through a comprehensive approach. The goal of the RETURNING project is to develop the mental health field in Ukraine by creating a nationwide network and implementing educational programs for professionals in the field. In collaboration with leading Ukrainian and international experts, specialized training programs are being developed to help healthcare professionals provide effective assistance to those who have experienced trauma due to war. It is planned that in 2025, 90 educational events will be held, including the annual scientific-practical conference RETURNING. The Path to Mental Recovery, which will bring together industry leaders from all over Ukraine.
To date, Memorandums on the creation of RETURNING mental health centers have already been signed with 15 medical institutions. In the second half of 2025, new centers will open in the Volyn, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, and Chernihiv regions, expanding the RETURNING network and ensuring access to professional psychological support for even more military personnel, veterans, and their families.
