On 31 March 2025, the event “Community of Universities “How Are You?”: Rethinking Higher Education through the Prism of Mental Health” was held in Kyiv with the participation of the First Lady of Ukraine Olena ZELENSKA. The event was organized by the Mental Health Coordination Center of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

The event brought together representatives of higher education institutions implementing the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program “How Are You?”. The community consists of thirty universities that train social workers and psychologists. SumDU is among them.

SumDU was represented by rector Vasyl KARPUSHA, vice-rector for research Anatolii CHORNOUS, and student dean of the Faculty of Foreign Philology and Social Communications Anzhelika KALCHENKO.

The All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program “How Are You?” is an initiative of Olena ZELENSKA aimed at developing psychosocial support and a culture of caring for mental health.

“Higher education institutions in Ukraine should become hubs of psychological safety, where the joint process of cognition provides mental healing to all participants,” – said Olena ZELENSKA in her speech.

The event discussed research results. Summarized results of cooperation between universities within the program. Presented a manual for development of psychological support in higher education institutions. Identified the next steps for development of mental health programs in higher education institutions.

The meeting participants emphasized the importance of psychological services in higher education institutions. Such a service is actively working at SumDU (the Department of Psychology, Political Science and Socio-Cultural Technologies). Here, future psychologists and social workers are trained.

Teachers and students of the department provide a range of mental health services: they conduct psychological workshops, organize support groups, art therapy classes (including those for veterans and their families), implement projects to provide psychosocial support in the communities of the Sumy Oblast, etc.

Anzhelika KALCHENKO said: “For me, as a student, it is extremely important that the state and educational levels talk about mental health, environmental spaces, and inclusion in education. I really appreciate the fact that I had an opportunity to attend this event, to see student colleagues from other universities’ self-governments and to understand that we are at this event to learn more about the problem and options for solving it. It is most gratifying to observe that the trend extends not only to the study of the state of students, but also to teachers who are also related to students. Such programs are the beginning of a comfortable educational space for everyone”.

“SumDU supports mental health initiatives and is actively involved in creating a healthy educational environment for students and teachers. During the war years, we especially felt how important it is to take care of our inner world and mental health, because our psychological state affects the future of ourselves and people close to us and builds resilience. And resilience is the key to victory,” – noted Vasyl KARPUSHA.