Publication date: 21.05.2025
Iryna Lukecha is an experienced psychotherapist, psychologist, and trainer with a strong background in international humanitarian work, trauma recovery, and psychosocial support. Since 2022, she has actively contributed to global mental health initiatives through her work with International Medical Relief (USA), where she currently serves as a Team Leader. Iryna also collaborates with refugee support foundations in Poland, working with children, families, and individuals with special needs, including autism and ADHD. Her diverse international training, including certification in Breath-Body-Mind Therapy (USA) and Psychosomatics (Ukraine), underpins her holistic and client-centered approach. She has also coordinated cross-border humanitarian projects supported by the Danish Government and Red Cross.
Psychological Support After Divorce: A Path to Inner Recovery
Divorce is one of the deepest emotional crises a person can experience in adult life. It’s not just the end of a relationship — it’s the collapse of a shared life system, joint dreams, daily habits, and future plans. As a psychotherapist and life coach, I, Iryna Lukavycha, often support clients through this intense transition — when the ground seems to disappear beneath their feet, and all that lies ahead feels uncertain and unclear.
Case Context
A woman came to me shortly after a divorce that ended a 12-year marriage. Her husband initiated the separation, which came as a total shock. Everything she had built suddenly felt meaningless. She asked herself: “Why now?”, “What’s wrong with me?”, “How did I not see it coming?” She felt abandoned, disoriented, and humiliated. One of the hardest parts was explaining the situation to their children.
Stages of Psychotherapeutic Support
1. Emotional Stabilization and Grief Processing
- Regular sessions to safely express intense emotions: anger, pain, betrayal, fear.
- Working through the stages of grief: recognizing the loss, allowing tears, releasing emotions physically.
- Using body-based and breathing techniques to relieve emotional tension.
- Learning self-soothing tools and regaining daily emotional balance.
- Creating an internal “container” for emotions that are hard to articulate in words.
2. Rebuilding Self-Esteem and Identity
- Identifying negative self-beliefs: “I’m not enough”, “There’s something wrong with me”.
- Challenging harmful myths about “perfect relationships” or the “ideal family”.
- Reconnecting with the body, desires, and passions that were suppressed during the marriage.
- Creating a personal identity map: who am I without my partner, what do I value?
- Building a stable inner sense of worth, separate from external validation.
3. Restructuring Life After the Relationship
- Designing a new vision of the future where the client is the central figure.
- Setting new personal and professional goals — education, career, self-development.
- Rebuilding support systems — friends, communities, hobbies, new social contacts.
- Navigating parenthood after separation — balancing care with self-preservation.
- Opening up to future relationships — not from emotional lack, but from inner strength.
Therapy Results
- The client was able to process the pain of loss rather than suppressing it for years.
- Her self-esteem was restored — she began to respect and trust herself again.
- She learned to set boundaries and prioritize her own needs.
- She began to build her future without carrying the pain of the past.
- She stepped out of the victim role and took agency over her life and choices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question
Why should I see a therapist after a divorce?
Answer
Therapy helps you navigate this difficult transition with greater emotional clarity and less psychological harm. A trained therapist will guide you through processing grief, reducing guilt, and rediscovering your inner strength. Instead of staying stuck in the pain of the past, you’ll begin to build a future that is aligned with your values, growth, and healing.
Divorce is not the end of your story — it’s a transition into a new chapter that can be richer, more authentic, and more fulfilling. If you are ready to close the past with clarity and open up to a better life, I invite you to take this healing journey through therapy. There is space for your pain, your recovery, and your rebirth.
