In February 2022, Ukraine was invaded by its powerful neighbor. Since then, the whole world has been witnessing with horror and sadness the struggle of the Ukrainian people to protect their lives, land, culture, and identity.
In this article, I invite you to meet the leader of TFP-Ukraine, Oleksii Lemeshchuk. With his openness, wit, and generosity, he helps us understand his people and reflect on the challenges of applying TFP in a country at war.
Meeting Oleksii and his people
My first contact with Oleksii was through an email I sent him during the holidays. I decided to contact him when I discovered, through the warm holiday wishes that many of you sent, that we had a Ukrainian TFP group in our society. It seemed to me that they would have a unique perspective on human nature and on the application of transference focused psychotherapy in a difficult context.
He answered quickly and showed enthusiasm for the project. We arranged a zoom meeting with an interpreter so that communication of his ideas would not be limited by language.
On the given day, I connected with Oleksii and his interpreter and was pleasantly surprised by the brightness of his office. Looking back, I wonder if I was expecting darkness and despair. The short time I spent with Oleksii showed me light and hope for a better future.
Perhaps that resilience comes from spending his childhood in a communist country. Oleksii remembers how it was dangerous to exist outside of Marx and Lenin’s thinking:
That was the time when everybody had to be obedient and do what is told.
Olexeii Lemeshchuk, Leader of TFP-Ukraine
This article contains exclusive content for ISTFP members.
If you already are a member of the ISTFP, login to read the full text. If you are not a current member of the ISTFP and want to enjoy all of our exclusive content such as blog posts and other resources, please click one of the links below and follow the instructions provided. We look forward to welcoming you to our community.Renew Now or Join the ISTFP
Mathieu Norton-Poulin, M.Ps.
Mathieu Norton-Poulin is a psychologist in private practice in Gatineau, Québec. He graduated from Laval University in 1995 and started his training in transference focused psychotherapy in 2005. Member of the TFP-Québec group he as been practicing has a certified TFP therapist for the last 9 years. Since 2009 he organized several training events and has given lectures on TFP for medical doctors and college students. He maintains a blog where he write, in plain words, articles to explain TFP to the general public.