The prices for mental health care were the most frequently listed obstacle for Ukrainian media professionals who were not in therapy. This reason for not seeing a psychologist was cited by 44.3% of respondents who answered the related question in the survey. Another 27.5% said it was difficult for them to find a specialist they trusted, and 19.7% had no time for therapy.

These are the findings of a study by the Institute of Mass Information focusing on Ukrainian journalists’ resilience ahead of winter 2026–2027. The survey covered 265 media professionals based in 23 oblasts of Ukraine and in Kyiv city and was carried out during the period from 21 September to 7 October 2026.

The study showed that for some journalists, the main obstacles were affordability, access to specialists, and lack of time, while others did not feel the need for mental health care or preferred alternative forms of support.

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Money and trust are the biggest obstacles

Respondents most often listed the following reasons for not going to therapy:

  • the high prices of mental health care — 44.3%;
  • difficulty finding a specialist they can trust — 27.5%;
  • lack of time — 19.7%;
  • using other self-help methods — 18.4%;
  • unwillingness to discuss their feelings with another person — 18.4%;
  • feeling no need for mental health help — 17.2%;
  • getting enough support from loved ones — 15.2%.

12.3% of those who answered the question on obstacles to seeing a psychologist mentioned ChatGPT or other artificial intelligence tools as alternatives to therapy.

Overall, 62.7% of respondents who answered this question named at least one accessibility-related obstacle: prices, lack of time, or difficulty finding the right specialist.

Responses to another question in the survey show how real the financial barrier is. Among respondents who said mental health services were too expensive for them, 44.7% would spend a hypothetical extra €3,000–5,000 on therapy. Only 10.3% among other respondents said they would do so.

In other words, those who reported too-high prices for mental health care were more than four times as likely to be ready to spend extra money on it.

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Women more likely to cite financial obstacles, men more likely to say they do not need therapy

The IMI study also found significant differences between responses given by women and those by men.

In particular, of the 244 respondents who reported obstacles, 50.6% of women and 27.3% of men reported high prices for mental health care. The gap was even bigger among journalists working in online media: 64.2% vs. 27.3%. Controlling for type of media outlet and region, women were 2.9 times more likely to cite cost as an obstacle.

Men, meanwhile, were 2.4 times more likely to say they felt no need to see a psychologist: 30.3% compared with 12.4% of women.

The study also revealed variation between types of media. Print media were the exception when it comes to the financial obstacle: only 6.5% of respondents working in this field mentioned the prices for mental health care, compared with 49.8% for other media.

Instead, journalists working in print media relied more on support from loved ones: this option was chosen by 38.7% of respondents in this segment, compared with 11.7% of other respondents (three times many). These differences point to different approaches to mental health support, but identifying the causes for this was beyond the scope of this study.

Mental health support must account for the different needs of journalists

The IMI study showed that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for providing media professionals with mental health care.

For some journalists, the key need is financial support, such as free or prepaid mental health counselling. For others, trust in the specialist, their understanding of the nuances of wartime journalism, and the accessibility of help were no less important.

In an open-ended response, one respondent who had received a grant for ten therapy sessions noted that not all psychologists knew how to work with journalists from frontline areas and that her personal experience was negative.

Some media professionals may also prefer other forms of support, such as group therapy sessions, mental health support within the team, or self-help training.

The key takeaway of the study: Ukrainian journalists do need mental health care, but simply offering counselling is not enough to meet this need. It is necessary to remove the financial obstacle, to ensure access to specialists who understand the nuances of journalists’ work, and to develop different forms of mental health support concurrently.

Note. The study is based on an anonymous targeted survey of 265 media professionals based in 23 regions of Ukraine and in Kyiv city. The survey was carried out in the period from 21 September to 7 October 2026. The maximum margin of error for the full sample is ±5.6 percentage points. The questionnaire did not measure the actual number of hours equipment can run autonomously.