I consider myself to be a citizen of the world, since I’ve been born and raised in Russia, spent my teens in Finland, and many years living in India and England in my adulthood, taking influences from all these cultures. As both my parents are psychotherapists, I developed an interest in psychology and the human mind at a very early age - I feel like it’s in my blood. In addition to studying psychology, I’ve been exploring and practicing a variety of different spiritual techniques and traditions since the age of 15. Spirituality has had such a deep impact on my life, that I devoted the almost five years spent in India to it. There, I studied Eastern Philosophy in a Yogic University and lived a yogic lifestyle, later also teaching it to others. 

In addition to the training I’ve received from the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, in my work I also use the following skills and knowledge that I’ve previously studied or worked with: classical psychology and medical science (2 year courses in Helsinki Open University), Holistic Nutrition (basic course, Hawthorn University), family consulting based on theories of consciousness- and attachment-parenting (Ilomieli, 2016-17), classical and transpersonal psychology and consciousness studies (Leeds Met University, UK, 2009-2011), Holoscendence, which is a method in integral psychotherapy - education ongoing. By combining all these, and many other skills and methods, I’m able to offer my clients an integral and holistic approach, capable of offering a solution to most of their physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual needs. 

 

My life experience has a great influence on the process of my work. I feel like I’ve lived a very eventful life. I’ve experienced both sublime highs, and deep and dark lows. I’ve learned a lot from both extremes, but it’s the hardships that have made me a more soft, non-judgemental and understanding human being, which are the qualities that I value most both in my work, and in my private life. Upon experiencing the extremes, I’ve come to the conclusion that the middle path is indeed golden, and I attempt to keep this balance in my life now as much as possible. 

Last but not least, I want to tell how I’ve arrived at studying Eating Psychology, and why this is the message that I want to convey to people through my work. I’ve suffered from negative body image-related problems as long as I can remember myself. I started first restricting my eating to lose weight as a young child. Since then most of my life I’ve been on a diet, starting a diet, or overeating after getting off one. My weight has been yo-yoing accordingly, but one thing stayed constant; I was never happy with myself. I came very close to an eating disorder in my teens, but was luckily saved from it by yoga. And still, regardless of all the spirituality and psychological knowledge and understanding that I had in my life, the last piece of the puzzle was always missing, and I couldn’t find peace in my body - that is until I found Eating Psychology. After that, all the pieces really locked in place for me, and I was finally able to achieve a harmony between my body and my mind, which is what I want to convey to others through my work.