Healing Circles
Psychological support and mental well-being for Afghan women and girls
In Afghanistan, women have lost fundamental rights and are subjected to severe restrictions, such as being banned from studying beyond primary school, holding many jobs, travelling alone, walking in a park, or making their voices heard. As a result, rates of depression and female suicide have risen dramatically.
Psychological support plays a key role in the healing process and in the emotional empowerment of women who have experienced severe trauma and its psychological consequences. Starting in April 2024, NOVE invested in mental well-being by implementing psychological support activities within the Seeds of Serenity project, in collaboration with Amna Refugee Healing Network, a UK-based organisation working for the mental well-being of refugees. In 2025, thanks to the renewed partnership with Amna, NOVE launched the Healing Circles project in Kabul. The project provides psychological assistance to women heads of households living in poverty, who are severely affected by the restrictions imposed by the Taliban regime, as well as to 35 girls living in an orphanage.
Each participant has experienced significant trauma due to events such as war, violence, loss of home, economic security, or loved ones, and forced isolation. The project aims to restore their psychological balance, promote simple yet effective strategies to cope with high levels of stress, and provide concrete support in regaining emotional control, counteracting the profound sense of despair in which they live.
After clinically assessing the participants through individual meetings, NOVE’s psychologist designed a personalised therapeutic pathway for each of them, tailored to their specific needs.
The girls are offered both individual and group sessions, in which play, drawing, music, and storytelling are used as therapeutic tools to foster emotional expression and create a safe and protected space where they can simply be children. The orphanage staff are involved in a psychoeducation programme to strengthen their skills and help create a more supportive environment for the girls’ psychological recovery.
The adult women, who are also enrolled in NOVE’s socio-economic support programmes, attend individual psychotherapy sessions and have access to an emergency support channel. They also benefit from a mindfulness programme that includes breathing and stretching exercises, which help reduce anxiety levels and strengthen emotional stability. In addition, they can take part in group sessions with other women to develop mutual support practices and create opportunities to share their personal journeys.
Many participants have experienced benefits from the very first sessions. Through dialogue, active listening, and reconnection with their own emotions and with others, they have already made significant progress towards regaining mental well-being, rebuilding self-esteem, and developing healthier relationships with the people around them.
When a woman has the opportunity to listen to herself—and to be listened to—in order to understand her pain and find a path to healing, she not only heals herself but also breaks a vicious cycle of silence around these disorders, allowing future generations to face them with greater ease.
— Maryam, psychologist of Healing Circles
Donor: Amna Refugee Healing Network
Project start and end date: August 2025 – July 2026
