(2025) Science and education, 4, 7-14. Odessa.

Kristina But,
Head of the NGO «To be»,
PhD (Journalism),
Junior Researcher,
Zaporizhzhia National University,
Universitetska Srt., 66A, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine;
a second-cycle (Master’s level) higher education student
in specialty 053 Psychology,
“KROK” University, 30–32, Tabirna Str., Kyiv, Ukraine, 
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/ 0000-0001-6690-588X

RITUAL AND COMMEMORATION AS COMPONENTS OF DECOLONIAL DISCOURSE IN PSYCHOLOGICAL WORK WITH LOSS

The article substantiates the role of rituals and commemorative practices as additional tools in working with loss. In the context of the full-scale war, when the number of losses and the demand for assistance exceed the capacity of specialists and helping-profession practitioners, it is vital to find new, non-trivial methods of psychosocial support. Within this study, a ritual is defined as a repeated symbolic action endowed with meaning, and commemoration – as an active process of remembering, manifested through action and carried out within a community. The article also presents the results of an empirical study on the role of rituals and practices of remembrance in the process of experiencing loss. Based on an original author-designed questionnaire, a classification of rituals according to their function and sphere of application is proposed. The analysis of questionnaire results allowed us to confirm the hypothesis that rituals serve as an effective, easily integrated additional tool of psychological support in grief work. The effectiveness of these actions is closely linked to a woman’s internal attitude toward their value: the higher she rates the importance of symbolic actions, the more noticeable the positive changes (restoration of self-worth, improved sleep, increased vitality) after implementing self-care rituals. Content analysis confirms that rituals help women ground themselves, regain a sense of control, and transform the pain of loss into action and legacy. Furthermore, the article emphasizes the potential of these practices for the decolonization of the Ukrainian psychosocial support field and for enriching it with a distinctly Ukrainian cultural context, which is essential for both national and cultural healing from the consequences of colonial domination.

rituals, commemoration, grief, psychological support in loss, decolonization

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