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Peaceful Europe
Free Ukrainians for a peaceful Europe
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Peaceful Europe
We have lost our homes, but not our dignity!
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Peaceful Europe
Multilevel charity project to help Ukrainian refugees
About the project
The project „Peaceful Europe“, initiated by the Ukrainian psychologist Mykola Didukh - Doctor of Psychological Sciences, and supported and adapted by marketer Yulia Rodenko, helps Ukrainian refugees in Germany to recover from the stress of war and flight, return to a normal life and build a future.
„Peaceful Europe“ is an Ukrainian-German collaborative project financed by private sponsors from Germany and other countries of the European Union. The project is a cooperation with the G.S. Kostiuk Institute of Psychology of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine and the V.O. Sukhomlynskyi National University of Mykolaiv, and the Southern Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K.D. Ushinsky.
„Peaceful Europe“ is a multilevel charity project laid out for three stages:
(1) Pilot phase with 100 participants in Lübeck, combined with a scientific study (Lübeck study, 2-3 months, beginning in May 2022)
(2) Expansion of the project to 3000 participants in all of Germany (4-8 months)
(3) Building of a cooperatively organized village for Ukrainian refugees in Germany (9-18 months)
We have lost our homes, but not our dignity!
Information for refugees
Dear fellow Ukrainians!
You and I have left our homeland, we have left behind our houses and apartments, our loved ones and acquaintances, and have fled from the war to a foreign country. We are sad and despaired, anxious and angry, we are worried about our relatives and friends, and suffer from exhaustion, insomnia, and uncertainty, given the catastrophe that is happening in our homeland. Some of us may even be traumatized by the terrible things they had to see or go through.
Being a psychologist, I want to help you recover from these strains, and support you to find back to a normal life and build up a future here in Germany. For that purpose I have initiated a project to which I cordially want to invite you.
We offer you free psychological support, consultation on living in Germany, and a potent relaxation method, the effectiveness of which is scientifically proven and that you can practice independently. By this means you can get back control in your life and find courage to face life again.
As a long-term future perspective we are planning to build up a communal housing project with separate lodgings for all participants. To achieve that we will found a cooperative association holding common property and shared responsibility.
Conditions of participation:
❶ Citizenship of Ukraine
❷ Membership application for our association
❸ Payment of symbolic membership fees
❹ Participation in all official events and necessary meetings
❺ Active participation in the project
I am very pleased to welcome you as members of our project!
Mykola Didukh, DSc, professor of psychology, V.O. Sukhomlinskyi National University of Mykolaiv
Our approach
Help for refugees with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, millions of Ukrainians have fled to other Europeans countries, including Germany. Many of these people suffer from psychological and somatic symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). At the same time, capacities to provide the necessary psychotherapeutic treatment in Ukrainian or Russian language are very limited in Germany.
A different but promising approach to treating PTSD symptoms focuses on the use of effective relaxation techniques. Among these, the transcendental meditation technique has been proven useful in many instances (Bandy et al., 2020; Kang et al., 2018; Rees et al., 2013; Yoshimura et al., 2015). This technique enables the users to experience a state of deep calm and relaxation, in which they are safe from trauma-related memories.
Regarding its efficiency, transcendental meditation has been shown to be comparable to prolonged exposure therapy for patients with PTSD (Nidich et al., 2018). With regular practice, a reduction of symptoms can be expected within few weeks already. In contrast to trauma therapy, this method does not require re-experiencing the trauma, therefore it is substantially more gentle and does not involve additional strains.
We offer all participants to learn the transcendental meditation technique by trained instructors at no charge. In addition, we offer regular support und psychological consulting to ensure the safety of all participants.
References:
Bandy, C.L., Dillbeck, M.C., Sezibera, V., Taljaard, L., Wilks, M., Shapiro, D., de Reuck, J., & Peycke, R. (2020). Reduction of PTSD in South African university students using Transcendental Meditation practice. Psychological Reports, 123(3), 725-740.
Kang, S.S., Erbes, C.R., Lamberty, G.J., Thuras, P., Sponheim, S.R., Polusny, M.A., Moran, A.C., Van Voorhis, A.C., & Lim, K.O. (2018). Transcendental meditation for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychological Trauma, 10(6), 675-680.
Nidich, S., Mills, P.J., Rainforth, M., Heppner, P., Schneider, R.H., Rosenthal, N.E., Salerno, J., Gaylord-King, C., & Rutledge, T. (2018). Non-trauma-focused meditation versus exposure therapy in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder: a randomized controlled trial. Lancet Psychology, 5(12), 975-986.
Rees, B., Travis, F., Shapiro, D., & Chant, R. (2013). Reduction in posttraumatic stress symptoms in Congolese refugees practicing transcendental meditation. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 26(2), 295-298.
Yoshimura, M., Kurokawa, E., Noda, T., Hineno, K., Tanaka, Y., Kawai, Y., & Dillbeck, M.C. (2015). Disaster relief for the Japanese earthquake-tsunami of 2011: Stress reduction through the Transcendental Meditation technique. Psychological Reports, 117(1), 206-216.
The Lübeck study
As a contribution to research on the effectiveness of relaxation techniques in treating PTSD symptoms and as a demonstration of our approach, we collect data from 100 participants in the context of a scientific study. Study duration is two months, the beginning was in May 2022.
We survey 100 refugees who were distributed to two groups of 50 people, respectively.
(1) Participants in the meditation group learn the transcendental meditation technique from qualified teachers and practice the meditation for two months, according to the instructions given.
(2) Participants in the control group do not learn or practice a meditation technique, but will be given the opportunity to learn the meditation after the study has ended.
Severity of stress symptoms is measured using the Posttraumatic Stress Check List (PCL-5, Weathers et al., 2013) and the Impact of Event Scale (IES-R, Weiss & Marmar, 1996). Additionally, we measure depressive symptoms using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II, Beck et al., 1996). All questionnaires are provided in the Ukrainian version.
Participants in both groups fill out the questionnaires at three points of time: before the beginning of the study (t0), after 30 days (t1), and after 60 days (t2). After the first measurement occasion, participants in the meditation group learn the transcendental meditation technique, and the days count from then onwards.
On the basis of prior research, we have the following hypotheses:
(1) After 30 days, in the meditation group there is a distinct and significant reduction of stress symptoms. This effect shows in comparison to the control group as well as within the meditation group between measurements at t0 and t1.
(2) After 60 days, in the meditation group there continues to be an albeit less distinct, but still significant reduction of symptoms. This effect shows in comparison to the control group as well as within the meditation group between measurements a t1 and t2.
(3) Within the control group there is no significant reduction of symptoms between measurements at t0, t1, and t2.
References:
Beck. A.T., Steer, R.A., & Brown, G.K. (1996). BDI-II: Beck Depression Inventory Manual. 2 nd edition, San Antonio, Texas: Psychological Corporation.
Weathers, F.W., Litz, B.T., Keane, T.M., Palmieri, P.A., Marx, B.P., & Schnurr, P.P. (2013). The PTSD checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Scale available from the National Center for PTSD at www.ptsd.va.gov.
Weiss, D.S., & Marmar, C.R. (1996). The Impact of Event Scale – Revised. In J.P. Wilson & T.M. Keane (eds.). Assessing psychological trauma and PTSD (pp. 399-411). New York: Guilford.
Results
Mykola Didukh, DSc &
Katharina Freytag, Dipl.-Psych.
(The Lübeck Study 2022)
Hypotheses:
1. After 30 days, in the meditation group there is a distinct and significant reduction of stress symptoms. This effect shows in comparison to the control group as well as within the meditation group between measurements at t0 and t1.
2. After 60 days, in the meditation group there continues to be an albeit less distinct, but still significant reduction of symptoms. This effect shows in comparison to the control group as well as within the meditation group between measurements a t1 and t2.
3. Within the control group there is no significant reduction of symptoms between measurements at t0, t1, and t2.
Results: BDI - (Measurement of depressive symptoms)
Results: IES (Measurement of the Impact of Events Scale)
Results: PCL (Measurement of Severity of stress symptoms - PTSD)
Results: Summary
After 30 days of transcendental meditation practice, participants in the meditation group showed not only a statistically, but clinically significant reduction of PTSD symptoms and depression symptoms
Scores in the meditation group were significantly lower than in the control group
Hypothesis 1 confirmed
After 60 days, participants in the meditation group showed a continued significant reduction of PTSD symptoms
Depression scores were so low already that the further reduction did not reach significance anymore
Scores in the meditation group were significantly lower than in the control group
All participants in the meditation group were free from clinical PTSD
Hypothesis 2 confirmed for PTSD, partially confirmed for depression
In the control group, PTSD scores did not significantly change over the course of 60 days
Control participants got significantly more depressed as time progressed
Hypothesis 3 confirmed, the deterioration of depression was unexpected
Information for sponsors
Our project is financed on the basis of donations and therefore relies on financial support. The project is registered as a charitable association by the name “Sozialpsychologische Geflüchteten Selbsthilfe, e.V.” (i.e., Social-psychological Refugee Self Help) in Germany.
If you want to support our ideas and their implementation, we will be very thankful for a donation to our official bank account:
Recipient: SOZIALPSYCHOLOGISCHE GEFLÜC HTETEN- SELBSTHILFE E.V.
IBAN: DE31 2305 0101 0160 6259 35
Subject: The Peaceful Europe project, for the further development of the project to the entire territory of Germany, for the rehabilitation of 3,000 displaced people from Ukraine, we need 900,000 euros
Contacts
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Link to the participant survey:
