Eugene Hlywa

Childhood and World War II

Eugene Hlywa was born in 1925, in Nosiv village, Ternopil region, Ukraine. His parents Maria née Lutsiv and Leonid Hlywa brought up Eugene and his elder brother Teofil in the spirit of Ukrainian nationalism that was so symbolic of the Ukrainian conscientious society at the beginning of 20th century. In his teenage years Eugene Hlywa joined the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army).

During the Second World War as a member of OUN (Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists), Eugene Hlywa initially performed duties of an ideological advisor, and then of intelligence agent and soldier.

In 1943 Eugene Hlywa was captured by the enemy. The German military court sentenced him to execution by firing squad, which was to take place within 24 hours. Initially he was awaiting for his execution in Rzeszów prison, then was transferred to Dębica detention center and subsequently to Montelupich Prison in Kraków. The death sentence was replaced by incarceration in concentration camps. Eugene Hlywa was an inmate at such ill-famed Nazi concentration camps as: Gross-Rosen, Mauthausen and Ebensee. Eugene Hlywa was freed from Ebensee concentration camp on 5 May 1945 along with other inmates by the US army.

Shortly after his release Eugene Hlywa returned to his OUN activities. His division was responsible for prevention of Moscow's secret services capturing and forcible exportation of the USSR citizens, who became political prisoners and refugees during the war back to the USSR. In 1947, Yaroslav Stetsko, the OUN and ABN (Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations) leader, entrusted Eugene Hlywa with organising the ABN intelligence division, which he headed until disbanding of ABN in 1996 following the dissolution of the USSR.

Along with political activities Eugene Hlywa continued his education. He studied law and political sciences in the UFU (Ukrainian Free University) in Munich. He published newspaper articles under pseudonyms and participated in the community, student and religious life.

On migrating to Australia, for two years Eugene Hlywa worked in the remote regions of Western Australia, to comply with one of the requirements of the Immigration Department contract.

Life in Australia

In Australia Eugene Hlywa actively participated in establishing the foundation of the organised Ukrainian community life in Australia. Thus, thanks to his and his friends' efforts, the Ukrainian Saturday school, music society and drama club, were established. He was a co-organiser and the Head of the Ukrainian Association of Sefton, Bass Hill and Chester Hill suburbs (two terms). He was the head of the building committee of the Monastery of St. Basil the Great in Sydney. He was also the founder and head of the inter-confessional committee of “Protection of Faith and Religion in Ukraine”. He was the organiser and head of the committee for preparations of the celebration of 1000-th anniversary of Christianisation of Ukraine.

In 1951 Eugene Hlywa married Lydia née Kreitzburg. Lydia, who was originally from Kyiv, was able to continue her career as a medical doctor in Australia. Lydia Hlywa died in 1993.

In 1952 the Hlywas moved to Sydney. Eugene Hlywa worked as a lawyer and studied medicine. He chose to specialise in psychology. The reviewers of his doctoral dissertation The Problem of a Personality in the Light of Modern Psychotherapy and the Unconscious were professors Volodymyr Yaniv, Olexander von Kulchytsky and Stanislav Kratohvil. Since then Eugene Hlywa dedicated himself to psychotherapy and hypnotherapy. In addition to his private practice and supervision of young professionals Eugene Hlywa also taught. Thus in 1975 he was invited to lecture Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy at the two-year courses conducted by the Australian Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, now known as The Australian Society of Hypnosis.

Eugene Hlywa briefly worked at the Jung Institute (Switzerland), and frequently participated at a number national and international conferences and congresses in the USA including Harvard, Philadelphia, Southern Californian University, Germany, at Munich, Salzburg, in Lindau and also in Milan.

At the International Society of Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Medicine Congress in Philadelphia, Doctor Eugene Hlywa presented a resolution, in which he accused the USSR for misusing psychiatry for political purposes. He also discussed this topic in his Master’s thesis “Psychotherapy in the Western World and USSR”.

Eugene Hlywa is a member of a number of scientific and public groups and organisations. He is the Head of the Delegature of Ukrainian Free University in Australia and foreign member of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine, a correspondent member of Shevchenko Scientific Society, a full member of many psychological associations in Australia and other countries in the field of experimental, consultative, medical and clinical psychology, including:

Selected articles and lectures

“The Phenomena of Hypnosis”, “On the Methodology of Establishing and Intensifying the Hypnotic Trance”, “The Phenomena of Hypnosis and its Application in the Process of Hypnotherapy”, “Technique and Principles of Induction and Intensification of the Trance”, “Principles of Hypno-suggestion and Autohypnosis”, “Principles of Hypno-analysis”, “On Spontaneous and Induced Abreaction”, “On the Profile of Hypnotic Induction”, “Benefit of Using the Profile of Hypnotic Induction”, “Treating Conditions of Anxiety, Insomnia, Phobia, Smoking, Migraine, Obesity”, “Methods of Treating Psychosomatic Illnesses”, “The Principles of Using Hypnosis in Treating Psychosomatic Illnesses”, “Protracted Hypnotic Rest”, “Appropriateness of Protracted Hypnotic Rest in Therapeutic Process”, “Appropriateness of Using Hypnosis in Client-Centred Therapy and other Methods of Treatment”, “Using Hypnosis in Client-Centred Therapy”, “Treating Sexual Dysfunction”, “On Benefit of Awareness on the Theory of Hypnosis in Clinical Practice” and “The Importance of Therapist’s Awareness of the Theories of Personality and Hypnosis”, "Consideration of the Essence of an Individual in Psychological Theories of Personality".

Major works

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine included Introduction to Psychotherapy (Ostroh-Kyiv: Ostroh Academy, 2004. – 530 pp.) in a list of officially recommended textbooks for psychiatry students.