A FAMILY DIVIDED BY WAR IS IN THE FOCUS OF MUSIC THERAPEUTIC PRACTICE

Abstract

This article presents a systemic analysis of families separated by war in the contemporary Ukrainian context, with a focus on the potential of family music therapy as a form of psychosocial support. It is demonstrated that war has transformed forced physical distance between family members from a situational phenomenon into a mass, structurally embedded mode of family existence. Forced separation, prolonged uncertainty regarding safety, the cyclical nature of separation and brief reunifications, as well as experiences of loss–including ambiguous loss–have altered not only the everyday organization of family life but also the very logic of maintaining closeness and family identity. Families separated by war increasingly function under conditions of chronic stress and diminished mutual support, where emotional availability, empathy, and trust become vulnerable to exhaustion, and individual psycho-emotional states acquire a mutually reinforcing, circular impact on the family system as a whole. In this context, shared psychological experiences of loss, uncertainty, and ambiguous loss complicate stabilization processes and intensify challenges related to roles, boundaries, and a sense of belonging.
At the same time, the analysis highlights the ambivalent nature of forced distance: while it constitutes a significant risk factor for family relationships, it may also stimulate the development of new forms of resilience, autonomy, and alternative ways of “being together.” The decisive factor in the stabilization of families separated by war is not physical distance itself, but the family system’s adaptive capacity, including the reorganization of roles, rules of interaction, functional hierarchy, and the maintenance of emotional contact under conditions of limited presence. Accordingly, the challenges faced by ­war-separated families require a systemic approach focused not only on reducing individual distress but also on addressing patterns of mutual influence, role configurations, boundaries, and family resources as an integrated whole.
The experience of family music therapy demonstrates its high relevance to the needs of families separated by war, as music simultaneously fulfills regulatory, communicative, and symbolic functions. Music-therapeutic support is conceptualized as a multidimensional resource aimed at restoring internal vitality and emotional balance, supporting processes of mourning and adaptation to new life conditions, and strengthening family bonds. A key advantage of music therapy lies in its capacity to work with affect, traumatic experience, and themes of loss through nonverbal means, enabling safe expression and gradual integration of experiences without forcing premature or excessive verbalization. In the context of war, trauma-informed and systemically oriented music therapy gains particular importance, as structure, predictability, and ritualization of musical interaction function as a regulatory framework for families living in prolonged uncertainty.
The article proposes a model of music-therapeutic work with families separated by war that integrates a safe music-therapeutic space, a systemic level of family interaction, and an individual level of self-regulation. Music therapy is thus positioned as a significant resource for preserving family integrity, restoring a sense of “we,” and enhancing the adaptive capacity of family systems in both wartime and post-war contexts. The study also outlines directions for further research, including the examination of long-term changes in family structures, the effectiveness of system-oriented music therapy interventions, and the development of culturally sensitive, interdisciplinary models of support.