Unbreakable: How a Soldier Lived Through Limb Loss and Found Meaning in Life
Author: Ivanna Davydenko
Psychologist specializing in extreme situations and crises; counsellor using an integrative approach
Presented at the Student Forum on 27 February 2025.
Every psychologist has cases they are proud of. So do I. I would like to present one to you. But I am proud not only of the case: I am proud of the client who trusted me as a professional and whose example showed how effective logotherapy can be...
So, let us begin...
Basic Information about the Client
He is a successful businessman, radio presenter, and civic activist: sociable, active, and forward-looking. At 32, he leads an active social life, plans to marry, and is building his dream home.
But then 24 February 2022 came, and he volunteered to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Personal History
He was wounded at the end of 2023. Multiple limb amputations followed. His right arm remained intact, but he had been left-handed all his life. The three residual limbs were later fitted with three prostheses. The doctors marvelled at how he had survived. He regretted having survived, because his twelve comrades had “flown to heaven”. His parents were under occupation. His fiancée had left him. His house in Irpin had been destroyed by bombing...
Observations of the Client
Apathy towards society, avoidance of any social contact, loss of hope, and an unwillingness to plan for the future. Composed, calm, and emotionally cold. He wants to read a great deal. He refuses to attend exercise sessions with a rehabilitation specialist.
Reason for Seeking Help
His main request to the psychologist was: “Help me understand whether I can recover mentally in some way, or whether I will feel like this for the rest of my life.” He approached me specifically because we had worked together on a project before, so he trusted me.
Preliminary hypotheses: multiple traumatic events (loss of limbs, loss of comrades, loss of housing, feelings of guilt because his parents were forced to remain under occupation, separation from his fiancée).
Format of the work: four months of work with a psychologist, with one consultation a week. Occasionally, brief exchanges on social media provided support for the client.
Agreeing on Specific Goals
Long-term goal: to find meaning.
Short-term goals: working with negative inner beliefs and feelings of guilt; focusing on possibilities; working with values; and finding new inner sources of support because the previous ones had been destroyed.
The Specifics of Logotherapy in Work with the Client
Psychoeducation about meaning and sources of support.
Literature on psychological trauma among military personnel, and literature conveying logotherapeutic meanings.
Working with values (examining them before and after the injury). Searching for meaning. Through reflection, the client identified his main idea about meaning: helping himself by helping others.
Working with self-perception and feelings of guilt through metaphor.
Using Socratic dialogue.
Applying the concept of the defiant power of the human spirit.
Outcome
The client took part as a facilitator in group work for war veterans and people with amputations. Drawing on his own experience, he illustrates all the stages of living through crises for group participants. He resumed his active civic engagement. He met the woman he loves in hospital and married her. He is expecting a child. He feels very confident and inspired, motivated by helping other people.
I told the client about the forum and asked for his permission to present his case. He replied:
“Of course, with my one arm and three prostheses, I am FOR it. If my example helps someone in any way, that means a great deal to me!”
I consider our work together using the logotherapeutic approach to have been successful.
What Meaning Does This Hold for Me?
Realizing that the most difficult cases strengthen not only the client but also the psychologist. For me, this means that I am on the right path towards professional fulfilment;
Realizing that it is possible to cope with difficult situations despite everything; the main thing is to find sources of support...