Nataliia Tarasova
Clinical Psychologist
Kyiv, London, Worldwide 🌍
When I was preparing this post, I spent some time thinking about how to introduce myself and convey the most important and essential aspects in just a few sentences. But is it really possible to briefly describe the entire journey from understanding who I wanted to become to the full and final formation of my professional identity?
At 17, when I faced the question of choosing a profession and was torn between studying at an art college to become an artist or connecting my life with psychology, I chose the latter. In times when choosing a profession in our society was very serious and strict, “for life,” I very consciously chose the specialty “Teacher-Psychologist” in the university brochure where I had the opportunity to study on a budget.
Since childhood, the experiences I went through encouraged me, even in high school, to buy psychology books that were available at the time. I very much wanted to better understand myself and the people around me. Even then, I tried to understand what was happening to me, why I often did not feel happy, and where that persistent feeling of separation from this world came from. I searched for answers to all these questions for many years. It was not an easy path but a very valuable and interesting one, which I traveled alone through trials, transformations, and powerful personal growth.
I will never stop repeating that the best decision I made many years ago was to go into my own therapy. I am very grateful to myself for this experience, which I continue to this day. I am grateful that through many hours of working on myself, sometimes through my own very deep pain, through reevaluations and insights, I have become who I am now, and I strive to live my one and only best life as I am and in harmony with myself.
So, I welcome you and invite you to therapy – a journey to a better understanding of yourself, your goals and desires, resolving internal conflicts, overcoming self-doubt, and finding the best solutions and realizations for yourself. I know from my own experience, and therefore I am confident, that even the most difficult personal crises, health problems, or traumas can become a real springboard to a better life and self-development.
In my practice, I support people in overcoming emotional challenges, life crises, and difficult transitions.
Clients often come when they feel exhausted, struggle in relationships, or face major life changes.
Together, we explore new resources, meaning, and ways to move forward.
- anxiety
- panic attacks
- depression
- emotional dysregulation
- low self-esteem
- self-rejection
- exhaustion
- burnout (work, relationships)
- relationship conflicts
- relationship crises
- divorce
- loss, grief
- adaptation to new circumstance
- emigration, relocation
- loss of meaning or life direction
- chronic conditions
- psychological prevention
and others
Two higher master’s degrees, one of which is in clinical psychology.
More than 6 years of experience working with clients
Experience of own therapy for more than 7 years
2.5 years of group therapy experience
member of the International Center for the Improvement of Emotionally Focused Therapy
(Member of the International Center for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy)
Member of the Ukrainian Association of Emotionally Focused Therapy.
Member of the Ukrainian Association of Psychotherapists (USP), client-centered therapy section.
During her studies, she practiced in Kyiv Psychiatry named after I. Pavlov and in the psychoneurological department of Kyiv Railway Hospital No. 1.
Work experience as a psychologist at the Kyiv Cancer Institute with children and adolescents.
I regularly attend supervisions and supervision groups
In my work, I mainly use humanistic approaches to psychotherapy, namely client-centered and emotionally-focused therapy.
I also use the techniques of EMDR-therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy and international protocols of techniques for working with injuries, in which I completed basic training.
I have completed a six-month training in DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy) skills. DBT is a type of psychotherapy that combines cognitive-behavioural techniques with mindfulness practices. It helps people better regulate their emotions, reduce impulsivity, improve communication skills, and cope with stress. DBT is especially effective for borderline personality disorder, self-harming behaviours, as well as depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.
In the future, I plan to continue training and obtain certification in this method, because it is evidence-based and helps those who are struggling the most.
All sessions are held online. Each meeting lasts about 50–70 minutes and usually takes place once a week.
The fee is 1400–2000 UAH and is fixed for 6 months.
If you need to cancel or reschedule, please let me know at least 24 hours in advance. Otherwise, the session is charged in full.
I always make sure our work together feels safe and confidential
Emotionally focused therapy.
Work with couples
“All researches of recent years clearly confirm that strong close relationships are the cornerstone on which a person’s happiness and overall well-being are built. Good relationships help maintain health more effectively than good nutrition. They are a better strategy for staying young than taking vitamins. Love and intimacy are the keys to creating self-sufficient families that teach their children the skills necessary for a civilized society: trust, empathy, and cooperation.
Love is the source of life for our species and our world. Among the revolutionary discoveries is the statement that the main and most important human instinct is not sex or aggression, but the need for safe intimacy and permanent relationships.”
Dr. Sue Johnson “Love Sense”.
This is an excerpt from a book by Sue Johnson, the founder of Emotionally Focused Therapy. The work “Love Sense”, in my opinion, very vividly shows what this incredibly talented woman – Dr. Sue Johnson – has been working on all her life.
Emotionally focused therapy is an experimental, humanistic approach to
psychotherapy, based on the science of attachment and the perspective of the influence of attachment on human functioning. The model prioritizes emotions and emotion regulation as they shape individual experience and interaction in relationships. EFT is an integrative model that can be applied in various forms,
particularly in individual, couple and family contexts.
Emotionally focused therapy is a scientifically proven method of psychotherapy for couples, families and individual clients, which is based on attachment theory, a humanistic and systemic approach.
EPT is effective:
◦ 70-73% recovery rates
◦ Results are consistent
◦ Significant reduction in depression
◦ Over 20 scientific studies on efficacy and on process
◦ MRI study
◦ Different types of customers.
Of course, no method is a guarantee that the couple will save the relationship, because it must always be the responsibility and desire of the two partners. But practice shows that in any case, the experience of couple therapy allows you to better understand yourself, your visions and determine the vector in which the couple will move.
Client-centered therapy.
“Before each session, I pause to remember my human nature. There is no experience of this person that I cannot share, no fear that I cannot understand, no suffering that I cannot care about, because I am human too. No matter how deep her wound is, she need not be ashamed in front of me. I’m vulnerable too. And that’s enough. Whatever her story is, she doesn’t have to be alone with it anymore. And this is what will begin her healing” (Carl Rogers).
Client-centered therapy was created by the outstanding American psychologist Carl Rogers. It is impossible to comprehend and express how strong an influence this method had and still has on the development of psychology and psychotherapy all over the world. In Great Britain, even a separate profession of Counseling (consulting) has been created, which is in great demand and allows you to work in various institutions and centers of psychological assistance, centers of work with clients. Carl Rogers’ client-centered therapy became the core of this profession.
As a young psychologist and choosing my first method in psychotherapy, I was impressed by the figure of Carl Rogers, in particular, the biography of the scientist. During his lifetime, he wrote 16 books and more than 200 scientific articles. Almost all of these works were aimed at the development of psychotherapy, personality research and the search for answers to the question: “How to help a person, how to understand and respond to his attitude?” Rogers was an honorary doctor of many American and Western European universities, and in 1987, K. Rogers was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Carl Rogers believed that each person and the experiences they receive throughout life are valuable and unique. One of the principles that resonates with me and that Rogers wrote about was the thesis that a person has one basic tendency to actualize, preserve, and strengthen himself as a center of experience. Moreover, this desire is characteristic not only of people – it is an integral part of the process in all living things, namely: the desire to expand, become
autonomous, develop, become mature,
the desire to manifest and use all the abilities of the organism to the extent that this action strengthens the organism or the self. K. Rogers believes that in each of us there is a desire to become competent and capable as much as is possible for us biologically. As a plant strives to be a healthy plant, as a grain has within itself the desire to become a tree, so a person strives to become a whole, complete, actualized personality.
Very often, under certain life circumstances, after receiving childhood traumas and trials, a person gets lost, loses meaning and does not understand how to continue his life. My task as a psychotherapist is to create and provide such a safe space, such conditions, where you will find the resources to become that whole person who understands and accepts himself, who lives according to his values and gradually steps towards his dreams and plans.
