Through the iron curtain

Psychology is a tradition in my family. My father was a psychologist, and I, in turn, passed the profession to my daughter. I am proud to be part of the very first cohort of psychologists to graduate from the Kyiv National University (Ukraine) in the early 70s. I am incredibly grateful to my professors who, under the enormous pressure of the Soviet ideology and without any access to the works of their international colleagues, did their best to give us well-rounded knowledge of the discipline. My professional discovery of love started through philosophy. As an undergraduate student, I was fascinated by the fact that love was a focal point of many philosophical worldviews, and that sexual love was at the origin of not only an individual, but also humanity. One quote that stuck with me through the years belongs to a Ukrainian philosopher Hryhorij Skovoroda, “Love is eternal, to be suppressed by nothing and no one.”