Medical psychotherapist, psychologist in Kharkiv
A medical psychotherapist and psychologist in Kharkiv. I work where body and mind meet. Over 25 years of clinical practice, experience in both conventional and Eastern medicine. Appointments in person and online.
What a psychotherapist / psychologist in Kharkiv works with
Twelve states people come to me with most often. If even one feels familiar — that alone is reason enough to talk.
Anxiety that won’t let go
Everything inside stays tense, as if something is about to happen. There’s no reason, yet you can’t relax — not on a day off, not on holiday.
Panic attacks
Your heart pounds, you can’t breathe, it feels like the end. The ambulance comes, the ECG is clean. And now you’re afraid it will hit again — on the metro, in a shop, at the wheel.
I can’t fall asleep
You lie down exhausted, and your head starts replaying the whole day. Or you wake at four in the morning and lie there, eyes open, until the alarm.
I don’t want anything
What used to bring joy now does nothing. Not sadness, but flatness: get up, get through the day, lie down. For weeks on end.
The aftermath of war
A sharp sound — and your body reacts before you can even think. Dreams take you back to where you thought you’d already left.
Tests are fine, but the body hurts
You’ve been to five doctors. Gastroenterologist, cardiologist, neurologist — all clear. Yet your head aches, your stomach churns, your blood pressure swings.
I can’t stop
You promised yourself you’d quit — on Monday, at New Year, after the holiday. Each time the same thing repeats, and each time it’s more shameful.
Work that makes you sick
The path you chose yourself now begins with a weight every morning. A holiday doesn’t help: you come back, and within three days it’s all as it was.
An inner critic that never goes quiet
Whatever you do — it’s not enough. You write off others’ praise as politeness and remember your own mistakes for years.
Relationships that destroy
The same arguments going in circles. You can’t leave, and staying is unbearable.
Outbursts you’re ashamed of afterwards
You snap at those closest to you over something trivial. Then comes the guilt, the promise to yourself — and again.
Fear that runs your life
You don’t fly, don’t take the lift, don’t get behind the wheel. Routes, plans and holidays have long been built around that fear.
Psychologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist — who to see in Kharkiv
These three are often confused, and the choice decides whether the first session helps. Briefly, the difference.
Psychologist
A specialist with a psychology degree. Works through conversation: helps you make sense of a situation, a relationship, your own reactions. Does not prescribe medication.
When to go: you understand what is happening but cannot handle it alone — divorce, burnout, loss, a drawn-out conflict.
Psychotherapist
A physician: medical university, residency, specialisation in psychotherapy. Sees both mind and body, can prescribe treatment but more often works without it.
When to go: the state has lasted for months, disturbs sleep and work, or the body hurts while tests come back clear.
Psychiatrist
A doctor who treats severe mental disorders, mostly with medication.
When to go: delusions, hallucinations, severe depression with thoughts of death — this is where psychiatry is needed.
I am a medical psychotherapist and I also see patients in Kharkiv as a psychologist: the difference is the angle I look from, not how the session goes.
Roman Vasilyevich Budaev
“Sometimes a single conversation is enough for a person to stop doing what they couldn’t manage for years”
Who is psychotherapist Budaev?
It is easier to hear it once than to read ten pages. A short video introduction — about the path, the method and how the work unfolds.
“People come to me with a symptom and leave with understanding. That is the very point at which the state stops running the person”
A symptom is not a breakdown. It’s the way the psyche copes with what it couldn’t cope with before. So I don’t start by silencing it: first we restore the whole picture — when it began, what preceded it, what holds the state in place now. As a medical psychotherapist and psychologist I look at the whole state, not at a single complaint.
I don’t give advice and I don’t pass judgement. I ask precise questions and notice what you stopped noticing after years of living inside your situation. You leave not with a prescription, but with tools that stay with you long after the therapy ends. The full list of conditions I work with is on a separate page.
Three steps from message to result
The message
A couple of lines on Telegram or by email: what’s troubling you and for how long. I’ll reply and offer a time — in person or online.
The first meeting
A conversation at your pace. I rule out physical causes, formulate a diagnosis and tell you honestly which method and roughly how many sessions it will take.
The work that follows
We work at an agreed rhythm — usually once a week. After each meeting you understand what has changed and what we do next.
Illness rarely begins in the body. More often it ends there. Health is not the absence of a symptom. It is a restored balance between body, feeling and life
— Roman Vasilyevich Budaev
How to tell that therapy is working
Progress doesn’t move in a straight line: a good week can be followed by a hard day, and that’s not a relapse. Look at the whole month, not at yesterday.
How many sessions you need depends on how long the state has lasted. With acute anxiety or insomnia a noticeable shift is usually visible within three or four sessions. With something that has dragged on for years the work takes longer — from several months. I do not sell packages and do not prescribe a course in advance: after the first consultation I will say roughly how much is needed and whether it makes sense to continue.
The requests I don’t work with
Acute psychiatric states that require hospital care and constant medication control
Work “under duress”: when someone is brought in but doesn’t want it themselves
Requests for a guaranteed result in one session — that’s not how it works
Assessments, certificates and reports for a court or an employer
Requests to “influence” another person without their involvement and consent
If your case isn’t mine, I’ll say so straight away and, where I can, point you to who to turn to. I won’t waste your time or money.
First consultation with a psychologist / psychotherapist
UAH 500 55 minutes
Online consultation
55 minutes UAH 500
Follow-up consultation
45–60 minutes by arrangement
The cost of further therapy is set by the doctor at the first consultation — it depends on the format and duration of the work.
Describe your situation — I will confirm the appointment time in reply.
Beyond classical medicine
When I was first told I should become a psychotherapist, I didn’t believe it. Working with words seemed frivolous next to surgery and emergency care.
It wasn’t books or teachers that convinced me. It was patients — people whose state changed where, by every calculation, there was nothing to change. I kept observations for years before admitting the obvious. Hence my approach — treatment without medication wherever it is possible.
I rarely speak about this side of the work in session. Not because I hide it, but because there’s nothing to explain: there is only an observation that repeats year after year, patient after patient.
I call it “the Ability”. It doesn’t switch on at will or off from fatigue. It works for exactly as long as the person is near, and depends neither on my mood nor on their belief in what is happening.
Helping people is my calling.
Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region — in person. Everyone else — online via Zoom or Google Meet
Psychologist consultation in Kharkiv — private practice, no referral
People come to me both as a psychotherapist and as a psychologist. The difference is that I am a physician: behind anxiety or insomnia I also look for a bodily cause, not only thoughts and reactions. Psychological help in Kharkiv is available in two formats — in person for residents of the city and the region, and online if travelling is inconvenient. A psychologist sees patients with no medical file, no psychiatric registration and no certificates.
A psychologist appointment lasts 55 minutes and costs the same as a first consultation with a psychotherapist — UAH 500. You can book a psychologist in Kharkiv directly, without a referral. If you are trying to find a psychologist in Kharkiv and are unsure who to turn to, write a couple of sentences about what is happening. I will tell you honestly whether this is my case or you need a different specialist.
What my patients say
“I want to say a big thank you and express deep respect for the doctor, a true professional, Roman Vasilyevich, who brought me out of a prolonged depressive state. Without pills. In a few months”
“I was treated by Roman Vasilyevich at Berminvody and attended his group sessions; at the time I had personal difficulties. I rethought a great deal, much resolved itself over time, and now I want to thank him for the treatment and for the thoughts and insights that came to me after every session”
“I had health problems, autonomic dysfunction. I took a pile of tests, even an MRI, and the doctors could not tell me anything clear. The answer to my complaints was that it is a combination of diagnoses. By chance I came to Roman Vasilyevich — this is his field. I recovered. In this review I want to say thank you and wish him many years”
Frequently asked questions
Is it even normal to see a psychotherapist?
As normal as going to the dentist with toothache. Emotional pain is no less real — it just doesn’t show up on an X-ray.
How is a psychotherapist different from a psychologist?
A psychotherapist is a doctor with a higher medical education and a specialisation in psychotherapy; a psychologist is a specialist with a humanities education. A doctor can assess whether a physical illness lies behind a symptom and prescribe medication if needed. A psychologist has no such right and will refer you to a doctor in that case.
How is a psychotherapist different from a psychiatrist?
A psychiatrist works mainly with severe disorders and treats with medication; a psychotherapist works through talking therapy and hypnosis. Both are doctors, but the approach differs. When needed, they work together.
For anxiety, who should I see — a psychologist or a psychotherapist?
For anxiety that lasts longer than a few weeks and comes with physical symptoms, it’s wiser to start with a medical psychotherapist. A racing heart and weakness occur both in anxiety disorders and in thyroid problems — a doctor can tell them apart.
What happens at a first consultation?
The first meeting is a conversation of about an hour. The doctor asks what’s troubling you, for how long, what preceded it and what you’ve already tried. By the end you have a preliminary understanding of the situation and a plan for the work ahead.
What should I say to a psychotherapist at the first meeting?
Speak in your own words — no special preparation is needed. It’s enough to say what troubles you and how it affects your life. You don’t have to phrase your request neatly; that’s part of the doctor’s job.
Do I have to tell everything at once?
No. You say exactly what you’re ready for, at your own pace. Some of what matters surfaces after several meetings, and that’s a normal course of therapy.
How long does one session last?
A standard session is about 50–60 minutes. The first meeting may take a little longer because it includes taking your history.
Will I be put on any register if I see a psychotherapist?
When you turn to private practice, nothing is passed to any state register. Your session records stay with the doctor and are protected by medical confidentiality.
What if I tell you something shameful?
Shame at the first meetings is ordinary, and it too can be said out loud. Often the very thing hardest to speak about turns out to be key to the work. The doctor doesn’t judge or condemn — the task is to understand, not to pass sentence.
What is psychosomatics, and can it be treated?
Psychosomatics are physical symptoms with no organic cause: headaches, spasms, blood-pressure swings, a lump in the throat. They’re treated by working with the state that causes them. The essential condition is to rule out illness through examination first.
Is an online consultation effective?
For most requests, the online format is comparable in effectiveness to in person. An in-person meeting is preferable when working with severe states and where full contact matters. For people in other cities and countries, online is a workable option.
Where in Kharkiv can I see a psychotherapist?
I see patients in person in Kharkiv by prior arrangement, from 8:00 to 17:00 on weekdays. I send the exact address and directions in a reply once we agree on a time. For people from the region and other cities there is an online format — it is just as thorough as an in-person session.
Why there is no address on the site
I keep the office address private on purpose. A visit to a doctor of my kind is far too easy to notice, and confidentiality here is part of the work. I will send the address together with your appointment time once you book.
How much does a consultation with a psychologist cost in Kharkiv?
500 UAH for the first consultation — the price is the same for a psychologist's session and a psychotherapist's session, and it lasts 55 minutes. The cost of further work is determined at the first meeting: it depends on the format and length of therapy.
How do I book an appointment with a psychotherapist in Kharkiv?
Write to me on Telegram or by email with two or three sentences about what is going on. No referral, medical record, or certificates are needed. I will reply with an available time — in person in Kharkiv or online.
How is an appointment in private practice different from a visit to a dispensary?
A session here involves no registration with a state registry, no entry in a medical record, and no waiting list requiring a referral. You come directly, pay for the consultation, and leave without any paperwork left behind. Everything said in session stays between us.
How to book an appointment
Finding a psychotherapist in Kharkiv you can trust with what you have told no one is not a simple task. So start not with a decision but with two or three sentences about what is happening. That is enough for me to see whether I can help and to offer a free slot — in person in Kharkiv or online. I reply to messages promptly, within the working day.