From what I have seen, people often put off a first consultation not because of the price but because they don't know what to expect: what is actually going to happen there? I'll take you through it step by step — the way it works in my practice.
You message me on WhatsApp or choose a service on the booking page. We agree on a time — I work around your schedule and time zone. Online sessions are paid in full when you book; the link arrives the day before. For an in-person session in Almaty you pay a 10,000 ₸ deposit when you book and the rest on the day. There is nothing to prepare: you don't need to arrive with the “right” way to describe what you want to work on or rehearse what you're going to say.
We introduce ourselves and I briefly run through the rules: what is said in our sessions stays between us. The exceptions are a direct threat to life (yours or someone else's) and cases where the law requires disclosure. You can ask me any question about how I work.
You describe what is going on and what you have already tried — in your own words, at your own pace. I ask questions not to fill in a form but to see how the situation is put together: what sets it off, what keeps it going and why earlier attempts haven't worked. If there is something you would rather not talk about, you don't have to: you set the boundaries here.
As a rule, by this point we have a rough map of the situation: what to work on first and what the next step will be. We set a goal that can be checked — not “become calmer” but observable signs: “I fall asleep within half an hour, without my phone”, “a conversation about money no longer ends in an argument”.
Whether to continue is your decision. There is no default “course of ten sessions”: how long the work goes on is something we discuss openly and regularly.
An individual consultation lasts an hour (an extended one, two hours), a couple's session up to 120 minutes, a child's session 50 minutes.
That is normal: you can pause, stay silent, cry — I will not rush you.
Work with a child always starts with a meeting for the parents. You can also book this meeting on its own — if you need to talk about your child without their involvement.
I tell parents about the dynamics, but I do not retell the content of the sessions. If a child's safety is at risk, I arrange appropriate help and act in accordance with the law, taking the child's safety into account when deciding what to disclose and to whom.
This article is for information only: it does not replace a consultation or a doctor's help.
If you feel very bad right now — in Kazakhstan call 112 or 103; free round-the-clock psychological help — 1303 (Almaty).
If you would rather first understand how the work is set up — the consultation page has the format, the price and what happens at the first meeting.