Kristina Nazarova, MA

About Kristina

I was awarded my M.A. in Clinical Psychology in 2024, and I’m currently wrapping up my doctorate in Clinical Psychology at The Chicago School. Prior to joining CCA, I provided psychotherapeutic services at a group private practice in Chicago focused on social justice, as well as a prominent community mental health center. I’ve worked with a range of people, from 6-61, coming from vastly different life circumstances, with diverse identities, and each seeking something very unique from therapy. 

I work well with: those who are open to reflecting deeply and in multiple therapeutic ways about themselves, their experiences, and their ways of showing up in relationships, (including our therapist-client relationship). While I can provide worksheets and coping mechanisms, I believe this only helps in the short-term, and many symptoms of psychic pain, like depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem, are the by-products of wrestling with deeper underlying concerns. I believe exploring those concerns, understanding them through a psychoanalytic and existential lens, and finding new ways to navigate them is what brings about lasting change. 

My clinical interests include working with anxiety, depression, shame, self-esteem, interpersonal struggles, life transitions, and trauma, whether it’s relationally, physically, or systemically-inflicted. Additionally, I enjoy working with concerns around identity; this includes: concerns around immigration, acculturation, navigating multiple cultures, intersectionality, queer identities, and the systemic and social factors affecting all of these. As a Russian-American, I provide therapy in both English and Russian, (and personally, stand firmly against the war on Ukraine). 

What I am like as a therapist: 

I work from a blend of existential and interpersonal psychodynamic theory. What this means is: I believe every person has a unique life-force that indicates what a good life is. I can’t tell you what this is, theory can’t, and neither can societal expectations. My role is to act not as a director, but as a companion, walking alongside through the light and the dark, helping clarify things beyond the fog, turning us so we can face the seemingly unbearable together, pointing out things you may not have noticed, both about yourself and the situation, and helping you explore the trade-offs and meaning of each decision. Additionally, I explore your past and present relationships and ways of showing up in relation to others that may keep you going in circles, and I highlight said patterns as they show up in our interactions. I see our relationship as a space to play with new ways of being, express yourself, and practice relating to others, and I make it a priority to cultivate safety and ensure that you feel accepted, seen, and understood, as my past clients will attest. 

Apart from being a therapist, I identify strongly as an artist, with all the free-spiritedness, creativity, and passion that it entails.