International Coaching Passport with The Ukraine Chapter of ICF (Destination 03)
One global coaching community. One session each month. Diverse perspectives.
🇺🇦 Destination 03: Ukraine
“Some coaching conversations ask us to face a reality we cannot change, while staying open to what remains possible within it.”
For our third destination, the International Coaching Passport welcomes the Ukraine Chapter of ICF for a thoughtful, interactive exploration of coaching in the context of war.
Coaching in Times of War: Holding Space for Hope, Agency, and Meaning
Join Elena Semenchuk, PCC, Vice President, ICF Ukraine, and Mariia Plakhotnyk, PCC, President, ICF Ukraine, to explore how coaches can remain present with grief, uncertainty, and collective trauma while respecting each client’s circumstances, resources, and capacity.
Together, we will explore how coaches can remain present while respecting each client’s circumstances, resources, and capacity. We will consider how hope can emerge without pressure, how agency can be supported when choices are constrained, and how meaningful steps can reflect what matters to the client.
Through reflection, conversation, and practical exploration of coaching questions, participants will examine their own assumptions, presence, and ethical boundaries. The session offers an opportunity to deepen sensitivity to clients living through profound disruption and broaden understanding of what responsive, respectful coaching can look like in times of war.
By the end of this interactive session, participants will be able to:
Reflect on how stories from Ukraine broaden their understanding of agency, hope, and meaning during war.
Identify assumptions that may shape their coaching when clients face ongoing uncertainty and collective trauma.
Explore insights from Coaching in a Reality of War-Related Collective Trauma and consider their relevance to coaching practice.
Formulate coaching questions that acknowledge a client’s circumstances while inviting exploration of what matters and what may be possible.
Meet our speakers
Elena Semenchuk, PCC
Vice President, ICF Ukraine
Elena Semenchuk, PCC ICF, is Vice President of ICF Ukraine and has served on its board for the past four years. A business and executive coach, mentor coach, and cross-cultural expert, she brings 15 years of corporate experience across Ukraine, Spain, and Poland. Elena is co-author of Coaching in a Reality of War-Related Collective Trauma, contributing directly to the exploration of coaching amid war and collective trauma. Her professional experience and leadership within ICF Ukraine inform her perspective on supporting clients through uncertainty, with particular attention to presence, respect for individual circumstances, and opportunities for agency and meaning.
Mariia Plakhotnyk, PCC
President, ICF Ukraine
Mariia Plakhotnyk, PCC ICF, is President of ICF Ukraine, a business trainer, and an entrepreneur with 15 years of experience supporting businesses and leaders. She has served on the ICF Ukraine board for four years and works with business owners, CEOs, and teams on systemic change, corporate culture, and strategic thinking. Leading a coaching organization in Ukraine during the full-scale war gives her firsthand insight into sustaining a professional community while navigating uncertainty and collective trauma. She brings this leadership experience to an exploration of presence, hope, agency, and meaning, grounded in the realities of working in Ukraine.
Your session details
📅 Tuesday, 3 November 2026
🕥 10:30–11:30 Bucharest time | EET, UTC+2
💻 Live online via Zoom
🗣️ Delivered in English
🎟️ Free participation | Maximum 90 participants
About the International Coaching Passport
Initiated by The Romania Chapter of ICF and created in collaboration with ICF Chapters around the world, this monthly learning series connects our community with different cultures, professional experiences, and approaches to coaching.
Ten destinations. Ten global perspectives. One coaching community.
Reserve your place for Destination 03 and join our Ukrainian colleagues for an hour of shared learning, reflection, and connection.