The 11th RETURNING Mental Health Center for Service Members, Veterans and Their Families Opens in Cherkasy

The 11th center of the nationwide RETURNING (ПОВЕРНЕННЯ ukr.) mental health network has opened in Cherkasy. The RETURNING project was founded by Victor and Olena Pinchuk to support the mental health of Ukraine’s defenders, veterans, and their family members who have experienced the psychological consequences of the war caused by Russian aggression.

The Cherkasy RETURNING center will be able to provide assistance to more than 4,000 service members, veterans, and their family members annually. It is a space of support, safety, and recovery for people who have experienced war, those released from captivity, and their loved ones.

“The opening of the 11th RETURNING center is another step toward building a system of psychological rehabilitation for veterans, service members, and their families. After launching the physical rehabilitation project RECOVERY, my wife Olena and I decided to focus on psychological recovery, as millions of people in Ukraine live under stress, and those on the front line experience it the most. These centers help our heroes stay closer to their families, receive professional support, and prepare for a new life after the war. It is important to us that specialists are trained according to the best global standards, because only then does psychological rehabilitation become real support. Our heroes are fighting for peace today, and tomorrow they will be active participants in rebuilding the country. These centers are our way of saying ‘thank you’ and helping them return to normal life,” said Victor Pinchuk, businessman and philanthropist, founder of the RETURNING project.

One of the key values of the Cherkasy center and the entire RETURNING network is psychological inclusivity. The space, communication, and therapeutic approaches are designed so that everyone—regardless of their experience, condition, or depth of trauma—can feel safety, dignity, and acceptance. This is especially important at a time when many people avoid seeking help due to fear of judgment, stigma, or losing control over their lives. Here, people can speak about difficult experiences without fear and without having to prove anything.

The RETURNING project demonstrates a successful partnership between the private sector and the state, where philanthropists create modern, comfortable, and barrier-free mental health centers within state medical institutions. The new center in Cherkasy has been established on the premises of one of the key medical institutions of the Cherkasy region.

As part of the RETURNING project, a major renovation of part of the second floor of one of the region’s key medical institutions was completed. A mental health center for service members, veterans, and their families has been created in this space. The premises were designed in accordance with accessibility requirements: wide doorways, no thresholds, medical anti-slip linoleum, and accessible restrooms convenient for people using wheelchairs.

The RETURNING center includes nine main offices: two psychiatrists’ offices, two psychologists’ offices, a physician-psychologist’s office, two group therapy rooms, the head of the center’s office, and a treatment room. The center also includes a two-bed day inpatient unit with electric multifunctional beds and an accessible bathroom, a staff room, a reception area with a waiting zone, a cloakroom, a storage room, and restrooms for visitors and staff.

The Cherkasy center has been equipped with the innovative Shiftwave psychological relief system (USA), as well as computers, laptops, a projector, psychological games, associative cards, art therapy materials, anti-stress toys, tactile and massage mats, and yoga mats. The specialists have also received 40 professional books on psychology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy.

The center’s multidisciplinary team consists of three psychiatrists, a physician-psychologist, a clinical psychologist, two nurses, and an administrator. A social worker is involved when needed.

The RETURNING center provides outpatient psychosocial and psychiatric care, as well as support at clients’ places of residence. Specialists work with the consequences of stress, anxiety and depressive conditions, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), adjustment, psychosomatic, and psychotic conditions. The center applies effective approaches, including individual, group, and crisis counseling, low-intensity interventions, psychoeducation, and stabilization and self-regulation techniques. Medication therapy is prescribed when necessary. All services are based on the principles of confidentiality, respect for human rights, and non-stigmatization. All members of the center’s team regularly participate in educational programs provided by the RETURNING project.

“For us at the RETURNING center, continuous training within the project is critically important for service quality. Veterans, service members, and former prisoners of war have complex experiences, and working with them without specialized training is unacceptable. During wartime, the demand for psychosocial support is growing, so specialists must have modern, effective tools. This is a matter of professional responsibility,” said Serhii Pokhnatiuk, Head of the RETURNING Center in Cherkasy.

The goal of the RETURNING project is not only psychological recovery, but also the systemic development of the mental health sector in Ukraine. In cooperation with Ukrainian and international experts, educational programs are implemented for specialists, including trainings, workshops, and supervision. The educational track is based on evidence-based methods such as EMDR, cognitive behavioral therapy, and trauma-focused therapy. Last year, 60 educational events were held within 11 programs, involving 1,500 specialists, and two international study visits were conducted in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

In addition to Cherkasy, the RETURNING mental health network already operates in Dnipro, Kyiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Lutsk, Poltava, Rivne, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Chernihiv, and Ivano-Frankivsk. All centers operate within state medical institutions and provide free outpatient services. At the first stage of the project’s development, 25 centers across Ukraine are planned.

Address of the RETURNING Center in Cherkasy:
4 Olena Teliha Street, building “A-6”
Cherkasy
https://povernennya.org
Phone: +38 0472 66 24 00

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