Norrsken Mind is supporting Heal Ukraine Trauma (HUT) in expanding a training program that prepares psychotherapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists in Ukraine to provide group Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) for military veterans. HUT is an initiative of Heal Traumas International, Inc., a U.S. non-profit organization founded in 2022 to build sustainable, evidence-based mental health solutions in conflict-affected settings.
With more than 1.2 million Ukrainian veterans already registered and even more expected post-war, the scale of mental health needs will pose a defining challenge for the country’s recovery. Addressing this requires scalable, resource-efficient approaches that extend beyond traditional one-on-one therapy models.
Many patients do not respond to traditional pharmacological treatments for PTSD and depression. Ketamine’s legal status, established clinical use for depression, and safety profile in supervised settings make it a practical foundation for programmatic delivery in Ukraine. Group-based delivery allows limited clinical resources to reach more veterans while fostering social connection, combating isolation, and promoting community healing.
The program is designed to scale, enabling more veterans to receive care over time. Two trained practitioners working as a team can treat up to 96 veterans a year, and HUT’s initial cohort of eight practitioners could collectively reach 384 individuals annually. As additional cohorts are trained, the model has the potential to expand further within Ukraine and serve a substantially larger number of veterans over time.
This project marks an important step toward establishing a sustainable, Ukrainian-led community of practice in psychedelic therapy. Beyond its national significance, it offers a blueprint for scalable, group-based psychedelic-assisted treatment models in other post-conflict and humanitarian settings worldwide.
HUT Leads:
For more information, visit healtraumas.org
