Dr Olesya Ovchinnikova
Psychologist FSP | Somatic and trauma-focused approaches
Trauma • Relationships • Dissociation • Chronic Pain • Life Transitions
Online consultations • English • Italian • Russian
There are parts of us we have clenched around for years.
Held so tightly, silenced so completely, that the body begins to carry the history for us —
in rigid muscles, shortened breath, guarded movement, frozen gestures, and tissues that seem to have forgotten how to let go.
Other parts do not tighten. They disappear.
They go numb, collapse, become faint and distant.
They stop reaching. Stop protesting.
Stop expecting to be met.
What we call “personality” — and much of our behaviour — can sometimes be the visible surface of these buried adaptations:
ways we learned to contract, submit, freeze, disconnect,
or vanish in order to remain intact.
Much of this happens beneath conscious thought. We may believe the past is over while the body is still bracing against it.
We can gradually come into contact with these parts of ourselves.
Not by forcing them open, but by allowing enough space for what has been frozen, compressed, silenced, or exiled to begin moving again.
Healing and transformation
involve more than understanding what happened.
It is allowing the body to discover that it no longer has to organise itself around the past.
Working with me
My work brings together psychology, somatic and trauma-focused approaches, relational understanding and my background in the social sciences.
In our sessions, we make room for both conversation and experience. We may explore something that is troubling you while noticing what happens as we speak: a change in sensation, an emotion, an image, an impulse to move, or a moment when words become difficult. You do not need to be particularly aware of your body to begin.
I pay attention to what happens between us, too. Whether you feel understood, whether something I suggest fits your experience, and whether you can tell me when it does not are all part of our work. I bring observations and questions, and welcome yours.
My international and intercultural background shapes how I listen. Identity, belonging, migration, family expectations and cultural differences may have a place in our conversations, alongside the realities of work, relationships and everyday life.
Together, we consider what needs attention and where to begin. At times, the focus may be a particular experience; at others, a recurring pattern or something you are still trying to understand. We find a pace together, with room to slow down, reconsider and notice what is changing.
Approaches I draw on
I draw on approaches that attend to different aspects of experience: how we respond to overwhelming events, relate to others, inhabit our bodies and make sense of our lives. Some provide a focused way of working with a particular difficulty; others shape how I listen and understand what emerges.
Trauma & Shock
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR), Brainspotting and Psychedelic Somatic Interactional Psychotherapy (PSIP) are part of my work with trauma, shock and experiences that can be difficult to approach through words alone. I am an approved DBR practitioner and hold a Certificate of Mastery in PSIP.
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR), Brainspotting and Psychedelic Somatic Interactional Psychotherapy (PSIP) are part of my work with trauma, shock and experiences that can be difficult to approach through words alone. I am an approved DBR practitioner and hold a Certificate of Mastery in PSIP.
Somatic & Relational Approaches
My training includes Bodynamic, the Chiron approach, Relational Trauma Therapy, Somatic Trauma Therapy and Jungian Somatics. These approaches inform my attention to sensation, movement, posture and impulses, as well as how we experience boundaries, support, closeness and the possibility of expressing ourselves.
Attachment, Parts & Depth Perspectives
Attachment theory, Internal Family Systems, structural dissociation, psychodynamic thinking and depth psychology inform my understanding of relationships and inner conflict. Dreams, images and symbolism can also offer ways to explore experiences and meanings that are not immediately clear.
Pain, Regulation & Resources
For work with neuroplastic pain, I draw on Pain Reprocessing Therapy alongside my wider psychological and somatic background. Polyvagaly-informed and resource-oriented perspectives also guide my attention to activation, settling, connection and what helps a person feel supported.
You do not need to choose a method before we meet. We can discuss what each approach involves and consider its relevance to your needs, preferences and the work we are doing together.
Explore my approaches →
What I can help with
You may know what you would like help with, or simply notice that something keeps happening: you push yourself beyond your limits, withdraw when you want connection, agree when you mean no, or feel unsettled in situations you expected to manage. We can begin with what you are experiencing, even if you do not yet have a name for it.
Trauma & Overwhelming Experiences
Difficult experiences can leave you feeling on guard, easily overwhelmed or caught off balance by unexpected reactions. I work with the effects of trauma and shock, including frightening medical experiences, and with difficulties that developed over time within relationships.
Difficult experiences can leave you feeling on guard, easily overwhelmed or caught off balance by unexpected reactions. I work with the effects of trauma and shock, including frightening medical experiences, and with difficulties that developed over time within relationships.
Attachment, Relationships & Boundaries
You may want closeness yet find it difficult to trust, ask for support or remain connected during conflict. Our work can explore recurring relationship patterns, people-pleasing, fear of rejection and the challenge of expressing your needs without losing sight of the other person.
Emotional Overwhelm & Disconnection
Sometimes emotions arrive with an intensity that is hard to manage; at other times, you may feel numb, distant or unsure what you feel. We can explore these experiences and how they affect your relationships, daily life and sense of being present.
Chronic Pain & Your Relationship with Your Body
Persistent pain can affect movement, confidence and trust in your body. I offer psychological support for chronic and neuroplastic pain, taking account of medical assessment. I also work with bodily disconnection, shame and difficulties feeling comfortable in your own body.
Perfectionism, Self-Criticism & Burnout
Being capable and dependable can come with a private cost. You may struggle to rest, feel responsible for everyone or find that nothing you do feels quite enough. We can explore the demands you live under, both within yourself and in your circumstances, and what a more sustainable way of living could involve.
Identity, Belonging & Life Transitions
Moving countries, changing roles or living between cultures can raise questions about who you are and where you belong. I offer space to explore loneliness, cultural and family expectations, and the experience of building a life that feels more your own.
Grief & Loss
Loss can involve a person, a relationship, health, a home or a future you had imagined. There is room to speak about what has changed, including losses that others may not recognise, and to find your own way of living with what follows.
Coaching
I offer psychologically informed, body-oriented coaching for people seeking a thoughtful, challenging and supportive space to explore change, direction and what they want more of in their life or work.
A role may no longer fit. A new responsibility brings unfamiliar demands. A decision has been circling for months. You may sense that you have outgrown an old way of working, leading or living, without yet knowing what should come next.
I work with individuals, professionals and leaders around career transitions, leadership, decision-making, boundaries, confidence and identity.
My background as a psychologist shapes how I listen to the patterns that influence your choices, relationships and responses under pressure.
Alongside conversation and reflection, we may notice what happens as you consider different possibilities: a shift in posture, a sense of energy, an unexpected hesitation.
These responses give us something to explore together with your values, imagination and practical circumstances.
What changes when you imagine staying?
And when you imagine leaving?
What do you notice before you explain it?
We give attention to capacities, desires and ideas that may be beginning to take shape, and consider how to translate that awareness into steps you are ready to take. We also clarify whether coaching is the right setting for what you need.
One question I find particularly useful is:
What wants to develop now?
Online Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) for Expats in Switzerland
