Hi, I’m Daria Andrieieva.
I’m autistic, an ADHDer, an artist, a mom, and a psychotherapist.

In feudal Japan, a rōnin (‘wanderer’, lit. ’a person of the waves’) was a type of samurai who had no lord and therefore no place in established social hierarchy, and wasn’t an honourable, belonging, rightful member of society.

For the most of my life I felt like I didn’t belong – in my parental family, at school, at university, in my home country, even in therapy or therapists’ training. This wasn’t just a feeling: I was also constantly told that I didn’t; that not belonging was shameful and wrong; that I was ‘weird’ and that it was bad as well. (Which is a pretty typical experience of an undiagnosed neurodivergent person).

At some point I got tired of being ashamed. Yes, I’m weird, a person of waves, an unrested soul, a rōnin, a wanderer, a heretic, a misfit, a disappointment.

It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.

My approach

I believe that any therapy is a journey into the unknown, and while I know something about journeys in general, you’re the one who decides where to travel and which path to choose. Only you can decide what’s right or wrong for you, what’s good or bad. Only you have a direct access to your experiences, feelings and thoughts. Maybe you struggle to understand these things, to figure it out, to see where you are and where the paths are, and I can help with this.

But I can’t decide for you.

So, I see myself rather as an experienced companion than a guide. Sam, not Frodo.

I can’t guarantee answers to all questions, a solution to any problem or healing of trauma. These things are beyond my power, and, in my opinion, beyond the power of any therapist.

But I promise you my attention, non-judgement and honesty.
I promise I’ll do my best to help you make sense of your struggles and find some answers and some solutions, which usually result in some healing.I promise that I’ll learn from you and for you, that when I’m stuck I’ll do research, talk to my supervisor, ask colleagues for advice. And, of course, I promise you full confidentiality.

I use Internal Family Systems (IFS) and psychodynamic approaches backed by critical pedagogy, phenomenology and neuroscience.

I’m LGBTQ+, kinky and polyamory friendly, I don’t think that psychoactive substance use is always bad or equals addiction, I respect all kinds of spiritual beliefs as well as atheism. I’m aware of societal hierarchies, systemic oppression and power imbalances, and I believe that any therapy should take into account societal factors and cultural forces.

My professional interests:

• Neurodivergense and working with neurodivergent clients;
• Parenting;
• Transcendent experiences, spirituality, psychodelic experience and its integration;
• Integral approach to addictions, without sobriety demands and other bullshit;
• Application of the theory of evolution, ecology and pedagogy in therapy;