Photography as self-therapy
In my classes, I teach you how to speak with yourself in visual language
Working with photos is like meditation. It helps you to ground yourself. Every week you take a picture of yourself with my exercises — skills are not necessary here, it’s like working with metaphorical cards. Only with a deck the whole world comes to you, and the cards get personal.
This is not photography school, I don’t teach you how to take pictures that make everyone applaud, nor do I teach you how to win competitions or make money with your photography. I’m teaching you to hear yourself. Give yourself space. Treat yourself with attention and kindness. To look at yourself and the world with the open eyes of an explorer. And all this through simple practices using photography.
The images are universal. They don’t require translation. And when you work with them, you get a direct portal into those feelings that can be difficult to grasp in any other way.
Sometimes our classes are a way of understanding exactly what is happening in your life. And sometimes it’s a way to get out of there. And to go somewhere else.
Classes are conducted on a one-to-one basis
These are not groups. I like to work in chambers, one to one, to find the right practice for the person.
And also to make you feel more comfortable and not embarrassed to go deep.
All my courses are multimodal
They use different elements: photography and movement, sounds and writing, storytelling and landscape art therapy.
I take those tools that help a particular person along the way.
My classes are not psychotherapy
And not a substitute for it. It is a method of self-help, of improving the quality of life through creative practices. And creativity is in every human being from birth. Our power never goes away, but it can be stagnant for a while.
Unlike psychotherapy, where there is a ban on double relationships, courses can also be attended by those who know me.
A camera is not necessary
You can take pictures with your phone or webcam, make screenshots and collages, work with archives and other people’s photos.
It’s not about the art of photography, it’s about you, about you and your contact with yourself. And any images are just a way of doing that — a bridge to your emotions.
The methods available to you we can pick up together.
WHO I AM
Dating with myself
8 weeks
- For those going through identity crises of any kind, who want to remember or maybe for the first time truly know themselves
- Suitable if you often feel confused
- Structured as gentle dating practices with yourself to gradually and gently get to know the person closest to you — yourself
- 8 meetings in increments per week
- Assignments built to deepen the relationship (with yourself)
- The result is a personal album of emotions and snapshots, improved contact with yourself, an expanded palette of ideas about yourself, an understanding of what you like and what you do not like, and where and how you feel comfortable
- Strengthened and enriched relationships with your closest person: you
- Particularly recommended if you find it difficult to answer the question of what you like, if you have difficulty accepting your body and sexuality
BREATHE
A course for a resource
8 weeks
- Тем, кто очень устал
- Подходит, если нужно узнать, через какой именно канал восприятия вы теряете силы и через какие восстанавливаетесь — и как организовать себе восстановительный процесс в подходящем режиме
- Построен как исследовательская практика с внимательным пробованием разного и большой поддержкой
- 8 встреч с шагом в неделю
- В результате личный альбом-инструкция к себе, улучшение понимания своих сильных и слабых сторон, а также выстраивание своей страховочной сетки и аптечки скорой помощи и точное знание своих способов подпитки в каждой из ситуаций
- Особенно рекомендован для родителей, для ухаживающих за больными, для тех, кому всегда не хватает времени на себя
HOME ALBUM
Encyclopaedia of taming spaces
8-16 weeks (as you need to)
- For those who want to experience warmth, joy and ease at home more often, but other feelings get in the way
- Suitable if you are going through a move or emigration, if the family composition has changed, if there is a feeling that your family role is cramped for you
- Constructed as a slow appropriation of the space at home and the self in it
- Can involve shared tasks with loved ones if you want (or can be yours alone)
- Involves working with archives as needed
- The result is a diary book with pictures and texts, more self-understanding and more personal space, and an improved atmosphere at home
- Particularly recommended if there is a teenager, foster child or someone going through a separation at home
BOOK OF LIFE
Living the difficult experience through a photo story
8-16 weeks (as you need to)
- For those who feel their life is a patchwork of unstitched stories
- Suitable if you feel a desire to deal with the past or something that has ended, a desire to examine it, to say goodbye, to mourn, to celebrate your victory or finally to release anger
- Constructed as a gentle unwinding of the ball called “my story” and living all the emotions that come out of it
- The result is your own handcraft book of life in pictures and words (and not only), often a sense of completeness and wholeness, an addition of strength
- Particularly suited to dealing with difficult periods after a break-up and life changes
- Recommended in combination with psychotherapy
You can study outside the programme if you wish
if you trust your and my intuition, I am ready to go with you
- Meetings take place online, by messengers with voice, texts and pictures
- There are assignments in every course. But there are no assessments! These are important for your process and should not take more than 15 minutes a day
- For the class to be meaningful, it is important to set aside time when you are alone and you are guaranteed not to be disturbed by anyone
- About me: feminist, LGBTQ+, HIV+ friendly This is important to note so that no one is afraid to meet stigma and feel free to bring up any topics — but I actually already live in a country where the opposite is illegal. And of course, I believe that any helping professionals should be Friendly on all these points without special mention
- Total confidentiality (when working online I ensure it not only ethically, but also technically)
My experience and education
I have been teaching one-to-one classes with individual clients since 2020. I also have experience of group work with teenagers in camps and crisis centres, with adults in author’s courses and workshops (federal network of educational centres Unium, charity fund Time to Help, charity fund Teply Dom, space Other worlds, (Petersburg), children’s camp Primorsky (Ukraine), 2013-2018)
This is what my approach is based on:
- Education received at the Imaton Institute in Phototherapy
- Education at the Russian Art Therapy Association on the course Multimodal Art Therapy as a practice of simple steps
- Photography education (more in Bio)
- Research and tutorial work by Judy Weiser, Christine Nunes, Meena Savolainen, Pamela Dunn, David Ulrich, Alexander Kopytin, and George Platts. A special role is played by Natalie Rogers and her multi-modal art-therapeutic approach. I am also very close to Michael White’s narrative approach. All of this I compose, transforming it into my own.
- Great experience of personal therapy — over 400 hours
- Practice since I was a little girl. When I didn’t yet know the method had a name, it helped me.
To book an appointment
you can write to me via any messenger you like or in the box below. Please write down which course you would like to take, or if you want a free format, without a programme. We will arrange a date and time for the first online meeting.
One lesson is an hour (60 minutes). The cost per lesson is £50, payable by European card, Paypal or Russian rouble
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