WHO I AM AND WHY ME?

I sincerely believe that for a successful job, in addition to professional skills and approaches, the specialist’s personality and a certain resemblance to them are important..
Sometimes, small things like wearing the same funny socks during a session or having grown up in the same city (even if you now live on different sides of the planet) can provide reassurance and add to the feeling that "everything will be alright." That’s why I’ll tell you a bit about myself, so you can picture who you’ll be sharing important things with.
I grew up in the city of Voronezh. Do you remember the kitten from Lisyukova Street? Well, that’s still my official address in my passport.
I’m part of Generation X and I know how to dial a rotary phone, what a cassette tape recorder, a slingshot, a pocket knife, a smoke bomb, and dart guns are. I was also skilled with elastic catapults and spinning eggs to distinguish between cooked and raw (I’m referring to Soviet-era objects and toys).
In total, I spent 11 (OMG!) years on my university studies. And many additional years searching for approaches and directions that reinforce my values and take into account individual psychological characteristics (narrative practice, solution-focused therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, projective thechniques, cinema therapy, art thechniques, writing practices and much more).
In my work, I use an integrative approach based on your goals. I can be an expert (discussing recommendations and how science addresses problems and solutions in different schools of thought) and a non-expert (being there for you, asking questions to find clues and supports together, and imagining a desired future). We can also combine these approaches based on your needs, mood, and goals for each individual session.
These skills (and others) helped me complete my medical studies.
And this means you can confidently discuss your medical diagnoses with me if it's an important part of your story. I will understand them and how they might influence your condition.
After my studies, I moved to Moscow and completed my residency in psychiatry. I am a licensed child psychiatrist.
Feel free to discuss with me if you are seeing a psychiatrist and taking medications; I will be able to support you.
I conduct consultations in Russian (which is the language I think in), but you can switch to English or French if you wish (the languages sometimes overlap and even compete with each other :)).
I understand what it's like to adapt to a new country, how challenging it can be to understand who you are now when your qualifications are not recognized, when no one understands your language, or even when the time difference limits your contact with loved ones (similar feelings can arise when moving to a different street or neighborhood).
Our family has moved several times (Switzerland, Ukraine, Canada, and back to Switzerland, where we currently live amid the mountains, lakes, and cows). I had to put in a lot of effort to learn foreign languages, so:
I will understand very well if you are a mom of an extraordinary but tiring child, feeling as if you are more exhausted than other parents, and even if you are called to school more frequently than others.
I am married, have two children, and a dog (my co-therapist).
One of my sons has ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), and so I know a lot about it...
I could be your guide on this path, whatever the reasons that triggered it.
Finally, I’ve had periods of active work and long breaks, during which I focused solely on the home and children, and even joked that I was retiring.
Returning to work after a long break (even during summer vacations) can be accompanied by an identity crisis and the questions that come with it...
Here's a small piece of my life experience that will help you better understand me as a “real” person and, hopefully, give you a bit more confidence before the consultation.