Dr. Alesya Nazarova | Psychologist | Portland, OR
I became a therapist because I believe in the power of being truly heard.
I've spent the last decade sitting with people in deeply honest conversations. What I've come to understand is that change requires more than insight. It requires sustained, careful attention to our inner lives and a willingness to stay curious, even when it's uncomfortable.
That's why I practice experiential psychotherapy. It allows us to go beyond talking about a problem and work directly with the inner patterns that sustain it. By turning inward and attending closely to what emerges, we can get closer to the root of what troubles you and make room for what you may not yet know about yourself.
My Path to This Work
I came to experiential work the way many people do: sideways. My doctoral training at The George Washington University introduced me to psychodynamic thinking, while my exploration of Jungian depth psychology deepened my interest in the unconscious and inner life. I valued the richness of these traditions, but found myself searching for ways to work with the psyche beyond insight and interpretation.
After graduate school, I trained in Internal Family Systems (IFS), Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Hakomi, and mindfulness-based approaches. Although each has its own language and methods, they all recognize that lasting change comes through lived emotional experience, not insight alone.
This changed how I understood therapy, and my role within it. Rather than seeing myself primarily as someone who interprets experience, I came to see my work as creating the conditions in which new emotional learning can take place.
Training & Credentials
PsyD in Clinical Psychology, The George Washington University
Postdoctoral Training, Cornell University
Licensed Psychologist, Oregon PSY 3905
11+ years of clinical experience
Outside the therapy room
Outside the therapy room, my interests continue to revolve around the inner life. I read widely in psychology, philosophy, literature, and contemplative traditions, maintain a longstanding meditation practice, and return often to music and art. These interests are not separate from my work, but expressions of the same lifelong curiosity about consciousness, healing, and what it means to be human.
If you'd like to connect…
I offer a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation for people considering experiential work. It's a chance to ask questions, hear a little more about how I work, and get a feel for whether this might be the right fit.