Hello! My name is Arkadiy Volkov. I’m a psychotherapist registered with College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario, and I help my clients to overcome anxiety, cope with stress, find their way in life and improve their relationships with self and others. I’m excited about a chance to help others on their journeys to a meaningful and rewarding life, because my own journey to the place where I am now had not been short or easy.
I moved to Canada only 3,5 years ago, and before that I lived in Russia. When I was finishing high school and had to choose my future profession, I knew very little about what I wanted to do and was guided by such notions as stable income, career and opportunities. That’s how I got a Master’s degree in international law and started working as a lawyer. With time I realized that while legal work offered lots of opportunities and challenges, and while I was quite good at it, managing legal departments and coordinating complex international projects, I wanted something else.
The things that had interested me for a long time were history of thoughts and ideas, poetry and art. The more I read, the more I wondered what makes us happy, what gives us purpose and what causes us pain and suffering. Eventually I discovered a way not only to get closer to the answers to these questions, but also use these answers to help others – psychotherapy.
Since getting my second Master’s degree, in psychological counselling and psychotherapy, I have worked with clients of different ages, from children to seniors, growing to understand that two things interest me the most: first, our sense of self-fulfillment, confidence and agency, and second, the love and safety we are looking for in our relationships.
I keep studying and looking for better ways to help my clients, who in turn become my most valuable teachers, as they give me priceless examples of resilience, courage, love and faith.
In this blog I will share my thoughts on the topics I work with, and would be grateful for any replies and feedback. After all, “the spirit of dialogue is the ability to hold many points of view in suspension, along with a primary interest in the creation of common meaning” and I hope, this blog can become a space for such a dialogue.
