How did this project start? At the EAP meeting in Vienna in march 2023, five colleagues from different European countries (Ewa Dobiala, Poland, Vibeke Lubanski, Denmark, Christina Winkler, France, Enver Cesko, Kosovo, and Ludmila Moskalenko, Ukraine), decided to find ways to supporting psychotherapists mainly from Ukraine but also from neighboring countries. Our colleagues need us: the psychotherapists who are offering help for clients inside of Ukraine, refugees in- and outside of Ukraine and people who are traumatized from the war situation. The main idea was motivated by Ewa Dobiala, our colleague from Poland. She is very much involved already in supporting Ukrainian colleagues, and last year organized the first Conference on Ukrainian psychotherapists working with traumatized people(see attached report from this Conference). As a voluntary group we decided to exchange our ideas and suggestions on how we can work together to establish a professional international group, who will support, both professionally and economically the needed activities. This includes bringing all professionals, who are dealing with Ukrainian psychotherapists to connect to other European colleagues. The need appeared to create a space of professional listening for psychotherapists who deal with the war on a daily basis in order to share their stories and experiences and raise awareness around the human costs of the war. They don't need supervision or personal therapy, but colleagues to be able to listen to the traumatic stories that need to be shared between human beings. We decided to name the project “European Room for Listening - ERL”, as our aim is to offer support and professional listening in between Europe. Purpose of “European Room for Listening” (ERL) To bring together the psychotherapists mainly from Ukraine and neighboring countries Offer a yearly physical meeting/conference for psychotherapists working in the war situationOffer a monthly virtual meeting to share their experiences among all psychotherapists and get the opportunity to receive support and protect their mental health. The other specific goals of ERL: To protect from burn out syndromeTo reflect experiences among different psychotherapist from different countriesTo release and heal the wounds from war experiencesTo offer help, advice, counseling or psychotherapy for needed professionalsA research project might emerge from the value of such exchanges in a war situationWhy is this project necessary? Ukrainian psychotherapists and psychotherapists from other countries indirectly touched by war use all possibilities to get therapy and supervision, but most of their therapists and supervisors are in the same field of war trauma. More than being trainers, supervisors for other colleagues in their own countries, Ukrainian and Polish psychotherapists need support at a wider level considering dignity and humanity. Sincere presence of another person can heal trauma and help out of the feeling of being a victim of the situation. We believe that European Colleagues could give such sincere presence of listening to Ukrainian psychotherapists, supervisors, psychotherapy trainers and other colleagues touched by the war. This project is for psychotherapy in the whole world and for its development. It's a project for psychotherapists, who are ready to listen to difficult questions about the nature of human beings. It is a project to connect our European resources for healing direct and trans-generational trauma. First free of charge meeting on June 28th 2023 from 5pm – 8pm CET (Berlin time). Get your link here : https://survey.zohopublic.eu/zs/yHBj1m | 