The first year of work by the Heart of Azovstal and the psycho-emotional support platform Healthy Mind has demonstrated the effectiveness of their methods.
The organisation works with a range of groups: defenders of Mariupol, families of prisoners of war, those killed in action, and the missing. Manually collecting and systematising information about their psychological state and related issues requires considerable human resources. At the same time, with each new prisoner exchange, the number of servicemen in need of support continues to grow.
Providing psychological assistance to hundreds of individuals highlighted the need for swift and high-quality diagnostics that enable specialists to focus on addressing specific challenges. In addition, there is still a degree of scepticism among military personnel regarding sessions with psychologists. That’s why the introduction of a platform capable of assessing psychological wellbeing without the involvement of a specialist has made it possible to obtain more reliable results. Aid recipients complete the tests privately and are more likely to answer the questions honestly.
The Heart of Azovstal project has chosen the digital solution Healthy Mind for comprehensive mental health assessment thanks to the following advantages:
- Optimisation of processes and resources The fully automated process for assessing mental state, providing tailored recommendations, and tracking progress enables highly efficient use of both human and financial resources. It also supports the evaluation of the effectiveness of applied methods.
- Methodologies aligned with international standards The platform assesses mental health across more than 40 scales (including anxiety, depression, PTSD, social functioning, psychosomatic conditions, and others), and tracks changes before and after therapy.
- High-precision diagnostics Healthy Mind identifies over 95% of common psycho-emotional conditions (according to DSM-5, among those measurable through self-reporting). On average, it generates a comprehensive overview of each participant’s mental state in just eight minutes.
- Personalised approach The platform offers an individualised journey for each user, assessing not only the overall level of mental wellbeing but also providing personalised recommendations. It serves as a long-term tool for ongoing use and self-monitoring.
The main objective is to equip the NGO’s specialists with a modern, data-driven tool for assessing individuals’ psychological state and helping select the most appropriate support strategies for each person.
The Heart of Azovstal community has already united over 7,000 defenders of Mariupol and their families. This approach significantly enhances Ukraine’s mental health strategy. The entire system operates automatically — from monitoring individuals’ mental state to generating detailed analytics accessed by project specialists. The data obtained allows for a more accurate understanding of the needs of different groups right from the start of any initiative, enabling the delivery of targeted support. This makes it possible to reach more people with high-quality, tailored assistance.
Over the past year, access to the digital Healthy Mind solution has been granted to NGO staff and participants in rehabilitation programmes. Psychologists have actively been using the tool across a range of formats: during one-to-one consultations, group therapy sessions, rehabilitation camps, and retreats.
Working with Healthy Mind enables us to make our psychological rehabilitation programmes more adaptable. For group formats, we carry out preliminary screening of participants. This allows us to identify the specific challenges facing each group and tailor the rehabilitation programme accordingly. As a result, we achieve better outcomes. The ability to easily access analytics on the progress and wellbeing of our defenders and their families allows us to make our support even more effective,”
commented Ksenia Sukhova, Director of the Heart of Azovstal.
We are expanding the scale of our partnership with the project. Healthy Mind is now being integrated into the wider health check-up ecosystem for all Heart of Azovstal beneficiaries, as mental and physical health are closely interlinked. This will allow not only for one-off assessments, but also give each person the opportunity to independently monitor changes in their mental state after completing support programmes,”
added Maksym Rabinovych, CEO of Healthy Mind.
Hundreds of completed assessments are more than just numbers — they represent real steps towards effective, personalised support for those who need it most.
