Halyna Parvachenko

Professional journey

My path into the field of mental health began in childhood. From the age of four, I knew with certainty and confidently told the adults around me that I wanted to become a doctor. Over time, this interest deepened and grew to include psychology and the inner world of the human experience.

I have been practising as a psychiatrist since 2005. I have many years of experience in both inpatient and outpatient settings and have worked with a wide range of mental health conditions - from anxiety and depressive disorders to complex psychiatric cases.

Over the years, it has become increasingly important to me not only to diagnose a condition, prescribe medication, and monitor treatment, but also to see the person behind the symptoms - their story, experiences, relationships, ways of coping with life, and the environment in which their difficulties emerge and unfold.

It was this interest that led me to psychotherapy.

For me, psychotherapy is a space for safe self-exploration, where it is essential to be present with a person while respecting their pace, personal boundaries, and unique experience.

Expertise and professional experience

I am a psychiatrist with more than 20 years of experience in the field of mental health.

I have worked in both psychiatric inpatient care and outpatient practice.

Alongside psychiatry, I continue to develop the psychotherapeutic dimension of my work. I am currently training in Gestalt therapy at the Ukrainian Institute of Applied Psychology and Psychotherapy, studying Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), have training in medical psychology, and practise Biosuggestive Therapy.

Combining medical and psychotherapeutic perspectives allows me to understand a person’s mental health comprehensively and to distinguish between situations where psychotherapeutic support may be sufficient and those where psychiatric assessment and medication are an important part of treatment.

Specialisation

I work with adults and adolescents - in the case of minors, with parental consent.

In my practice, I work with the following conditions and concerns:

• depressive and mixed anxiety-depressive disorders;

• generalised anxiety and panic attacks;

• PTSD and adjustment disorders;

• emotional instability, borderline personality disorder, and other personality disorders;

• eating disorders;

• psychosomatic (somatoform) disorders;

• bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia, and other psychotic conditions;

• sleep disorders;

• emotional burnout;

• social anxiety and phobias;

• tic disorders and Tourette syndrome.

For me, it is important not to work solely with an individual symptom or diagnosis. Behind every mental health condition is a person — with their own history, relationships, resources, vulnerabilities, and unique way of experiencing what is happening to them.

My approach

In my work, I combine the professional structure and clinical perspective of a physician with close attention to a person’s inner process.

I do not rush the process, but move forward together with the client. I can remain present with difficult emotions and psychological states without trying to remove or simplify them as quickly as possible.

It is important to me to help people find their own sources of support while respecting their boundaries and preserving their right to move at their own pace and make their own choices.

In psychotherapeutic work, I remain engaged and attentive to what is happening between us in the “here and now,” as it is often through genuine, living contact that familiar ways of experiencing oneself, building relationships, and interacting with the world become visible.

In my work, I help people not only manage their mental health condition or reduce the severity of their symptoms.

Equally important to me is helping a person gradually regain a sense of inner support and wholeness, the ability to feel, to remain in contact with themselves and others, to live, and to build a future — step by step.

I believe that psychotherapy is not intended to “fix” a person. It can help them see and accept themselves more fully, restore what has been lost or disrupted, and find their own way of moving forward.

This is especially important today, when life in Ukraine requires us to live with an extraordinary degree of uncertainty. We cannot always influence external circumstances, but we can gradually regain our capacity to live in the present, care for ourselves and those close to us, and continue making plans for the future.

I am here to support you through this process.