My name is Teo Knives, I am a clinical psychologist and a counselor based in Kyoto. Working with the international and expat community in Japan, I accompany clients at different stages of personal and professional life, as well as in the process of cultural adjustment. Together we face existential inquiries such as finding emotional flourishing and fulfillment within oneself, choosing one’s unique path in life, and building meaningful relationships with others.

As a clinical psychologist, I am trained to work with anxiety, depression, psychosomatic symptoms, and personality disorders. I am not intimidated by psychiatric diagnoses or medications prescribed by psychiatrists – psychological support for people suffering from mental illnesses has great professional importance and meaning for me.

Born and raised in Moscow, I immigrated to Europe as a teenager, where I graduated from an American high school and got my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Around five years ago I relocated to Japan to continue my postgraduate education. I am currently working as a counselor and writing a doctoral thesis on psychopathology and psychoanalysis at Kyoto University.

Having lived in four drastically different countries in the past ten years, I have experienced firsthand the difficulties of psychological adaptation to a new culture, the trauma of separation from home and loved ones, and the challenges of searching for one’s new purpose in an unfamiliar environment. My mission now is to help others overcome these obstacles and make them feel connected to their new life.