- Thank You
Ms Lidia Smirnov
Psychotherapist, Relationship Therapist
Lidia Smirnov Counselling
Sydney, NSW 2000
In Person + Telehealth
Philosophy & Vision
Integrating Mind & Body for Long Lasting Relationships.
Every relationship goes through ups and downs, major life events can send you off track and leave you feeling depressed and/or anxious. While you may have successfully navigated through other difficulties you've faced, there's nothing wrong with seeking extra support when you need it. Counselling and a good therapist can provide a fresh perspective on a difficult problem and help you navigate your way back to a clearer path.
Background
More than 10 years ago, with a successful career and pregnant with my second son, I faced a life-threatening illness. That experience prompted me to overcome my fears and create a more meaningful life for myself and my family. For me, that meant returning to full-time study in Psychotherapy, to retrain in an area I am passionate about, and where I can help others create lasting positive change in their lives. Since then I have gone on to work in various areas of practice, ultimately setting up my own private practice in Parramatta & Sydney CBD.
Services
I guide and facilitate my clients towards finding the solutions that fit best for them. I provide practical take-home tools to assist each person in their daily lives. In therapy I work hard to create a space in which each person feels secure so that they can safely explore and understand the dynamics that are at play in their lives. I will help identify each person's individual strengths so that they can draw on them to explore the difficulties they are experiencing and find constructive solutions.
Quality Provision
I am a registered Psychotherapist and Specialist Couple Therapist working in Parramatta and Sydney CBD. While I have learned a variety of therapy approaches over the years, and use various techniques to help guide my clients, I see my clients as experts of their lives and it's my job to use my skills and expertise to work collaboratively with you, helping you challenge yourself and find new ways of approaching difficult situations.
Areas of Special Interest
Accreditations
- Bachelor of Counselling & Human Change - 2011 - Jansen Newman Institute
- 3 Levels of Gottman Couple Therapy - 2014 - The Gottman Institute
- 2 Levels of PACT - 2017 - Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy
- Hakomi Graduate - 2017 - Hakomi Institute
Modalities
Emotional Freedom Techniques - Experiential - Gottman Method - Hakomi - Marriage and Family - Mindfulness - PACT - Person Centred - Psychodynamic - Somatic Psychotherapy
Therapy Approach
The foundations of my couples work rests on two evidence-based methodologies: The Gottman method and Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT). The Gottman Method was pioneered by globally recognised relationship experts Drs John & Julie Gottman. This approach focuses on giving structure, understanding & practical research-based interventions to couples' difficulties.
Stan Takin's PACT uses cutting edge techniques, incorporating neuroscience, biology and theories of attachment to help couples work through the real issues in a safe setting. The method that most inform my individual work is Hakomi, it's a gentle, respectful, mindfulness based approach to working with early attachment wounds and help change ingrained life patterns.
Professional Associations
- Australian Counselling Association - Level 4
A conversation with Lidia Smirnov
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I was working full time in Human Resources and pregnant with my 2nd child when I experienced a health scare, and this propelled me to pursue a long held dream to retrain in the area of psychotherapy and eventually specialising in relationship/couple therapy.
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Buddhist philosophy on common humanity and suffering has helped me a lot in framing my own experiences and those of my clients. By this I mean, we are all trying to do the best we can at any given time and often what gets in the way is what we have spent a whole life time burying and/or running away from.
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Relationship of all kinds i.e. couple, sibling, parent/child, colleague, friends, marriage, relationship to self.
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Gottman Couple Therapy
Stan Tatkin - PACT
Hakomi Somatic Psychotherapy
Mindfulness -
Depending on the type of work the client is interested in, by that I mean, if the client is coming to gain skills and tools in order to better manage conflict then 2-3 sessions should yield result. On the other hand, if the client wish to understand what is really going on underneath our reactions then that process will take longer to unfold.
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I am more content, happy, relaxed and comfortable in my own skin. I also have a lot more compassion towards my own suffering and try in those moments to bring kindness to myself.
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I feel honoured and extremely privileged to be a therapist.
I am humbled by the fact that my clients are allowing me to journey with them and often to places that they've never visited. -
Absolutely, coming back to the buddhist philosophy around 'common humanity' I am not immune to having off days but I know I handle them a lot better now than before.
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Climate change
Social isolation in times of technology
Trust in each other, politicians and our system
Corporate greed
Inequality
Human rights -
"The Guest House" by Rumi
Anything by Sir David Attenborough
French film "The Intouchables"
Songs by Andrea Bocelli
Paintings by Claude Monet