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Elena Foer
Psychologist
I've been working as a therapist since 2020 using evidence-based approaches to help clients build meaningful lives. My clients usually appreciate my calm, supportive, and straightforward style.
I specialise in:
About me
After completing my Master's in Psychological Counselling at the University of Manchester (UK), I explored various therapeutic approaches before choosing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for its structured, non-judgmental, humanistic stance and clear treatment protocols. Following my CBT certification, I discovered Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, a specialized form of CBT that became my primary focus.
Who I'm typically a good fit for:
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If you have something you want to stop doing but can't - from aggressive behavior and suicidal thoughts to excessive shopping and getting lost in social media. I really enjoy working with clients with narcissistic, antisocial, and borderline personality disorders. But not only those: it can be any conditions where there's impulsivity, difficulties with purposeful action, and giving up what isn't good for you.
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If you're suffering from PTSD or Complex PTSD. These disorders are my primary professional interest. I run a group program for clients with cPTSD, conduct research, speak at conferences, write posts, and wrote a book about it. I work extensively with such clients, including when PTSD is combined with several other diagnoses (which is usually the case).
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If your problems are related to life in emigration. I've been living between different countries since 2014 and understand these difficulties well. I also specialize in stress disorders, including adjustment disorder.
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If you work in management positions and are dealing with burnout, high stress levels, decision fatigue, emotions that interfere with making the right decisions, impostor syndrome, and the feeling that there are no breaks in life. I have experience working in IT startups - I understand both the environment and its demands. I like finding realistic solutions with clients, not abstract work-life balance.
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If the main problem is emotions - there are too many of them, they're getting out of control, and you don't know how to build a life when it seems that emotions control it more than you do.
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I also really enjoy working with questions about finding identity, meaning, what's important in life, and working with feelings of inner emptiness.
What I find most rewarding in my job is collaborating with clients to understand how their difficulties function and identifying practical changes we can implement together. I'm passionate about solving life's complex puzzles and finding evidence-based solutions that create meaningful, lasting change.
I speak:
Location:
Approach
I work within three evidence-based approaches:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy,
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy,
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. All three contain what I value: problem-solving orientation, lots of specifics, a rational approach with a great deal of humanism. We work on finding patterns in your thoughts, emotions, and actions - to develop concrete tools for changes in your life. The work can be very deep; it's structured and based on collaboration.
What I value most in therapy is the opportunity to step outside the familiar narrative about yourself and your life, to look at it from the outside. To discover simplicity and clarity behind what seems foggy and complex. To search for the function of behavior instead of its causes. And all of this - through authentic and safe contact with another person.
I always:
- Explain to clients what we're doing and why, and ask if they're ready for it. I have low tolerance for therapists who want to appear mysterious and all-powerful.
- Pay attention not only to difficulties and problems, but also to strengths, resources, values, and positive experiences that can be drawn upon.
- Communicate as equals, with respect for the choices, values, and preferences of the person in front of me.
- Try to speak in human language, not in terms and professional jargon.
- Think about the meaning and function of everything I say in a session.
- Keep the client's goals and objectives in mind, and the plan for moving toward them.
- Work under supervision.
Experience
Since I finished my professional training in 2020, I have been working as a private practitioner. Since 2024 I work as a supervisor in the cognitive behavioural approach. I'm a trainer in training in dialectical behaviour therapy at Behavioral Tech Institute, USA I run self-study groups for future DBT practitioners and a DBT learning community at Becompany, Russia
Education
The University of Manchester, UK - MA in Counselling
Mental Health Center, Russia - Certification in Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 100 academic hours
Mental Health Center, Russia - Certification in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, 30 academic hours
National Institute of Mental Health, US - Course of Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT) for bipolar disorder and recurrent depression, 8 hours
Behavioral Tech, US - Certification course in Dialectical Behavior Therapy, 120 academic hours
MHC School, Russia - Case management in working with clients with addiction disorder, 6 hours
Labirint non-profit organisation, Lithuania - Short-term counselling for victims of domestic violence, 16 hours
Harned Consulting, USA. Intensive training Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Prolonged Exposure, 30 hours
National Autistic Society, UK, courses Autism & Communication, Autism & Sensory Experience
Behavioral Tech, USA, advanced course Strengthening your Practice of DBT, 12 hours
Services
Intro Call
Individual Session
Individual Session
Insurances
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