Hi there and welcome to my website!
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I am Valentin, a psychoanalyst, teacher, coach, and result-oriented HR professional with 15+ years of experience in people operations, author of a teamwork course, certified project manager and Agile enthusiast with system thinking, strong analytical skills, problem-solving capabilities, and good sense of humor.
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Throughout my career I have worked in different organizations in several countries, from a private enterprise small business to a large international corporation, and I’ve also owned my own small business in Costa Rica. I have had the opportunity to try my hand at different positions, each unique yet always related to people operations. And I continue to remain supportive and passionate about people, and what drives their behavior.
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Personality: ENFJ-A, Supporter (S). Eligible to work in Canada (CUAET).
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Family psychotherapy — Institute of Psychotherapy and Clinical Psychology
Psychotherapy and psychological correction of children and adolescents — Institute of Psychotherapy and Clinical Psychology
Neuropsychology of childhood — National Research Institute of Professional Education
Sexology in psychological counseling — National Research Institute of Professional Education
Psychological Safety: Clear Blocks to Innovation, Collaboration, and Risk-Taking — LinkedIn
Coaching and counseling — Institute of Psychotherapy and Clinical Psychology
Having received a bachelor’s degree in psychoanalysis and advanced training in coaching and family and child psychotherapy, I worked with a wide range of clients having varied psychological needs. I was awarded a commemorative medal for my work with youth at the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students.
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As a mental health counsellor I offer counselling in the format of short-term positive and existential mental therapy combining elements of psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioral therapy, coaching and systemic family therapy. Such an approach allows my clients to recognize problems and outline ways out of crisis situations within 1-2 consultations. As an experienced professional I guarantee psychosocial support, unconditional acceptance and confidentiality.
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Helping people since 2017 as a mental health counsellor, I have received very positive feedback from my clients, for example: “Valentin is a thoughtful and knowledgeable professional, with whom it was great to have a few sessions. His approach is all-sided and really considerate. He is also a very pleasant person to deal with. Highly recommended!”
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In June of 2022 I joined the RINA.Health project (UK) as a volunteer psychologist offering support to Ukrainians suffering due to the impact of the ongoing war.
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Human Resources Foundations — LinkedIn
Recruiting, Hiring, and Onboarding Employees — University of Minnesota
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With over 15 years of experience in People Operations, and a wealth of experience in general management, team building, psychological counselling, lecturing, teaching, mentoring and coaching, I am focused on connecting individual employee performance with company goals, and my skill set includes:
Team recruitment and team building;
Maintaining a positive and productive environment, including psychological safety and 2-way communication;
Ability to engage and retain the staff, mediate conflicts and create a conflict-free environment;
Removing barriers between people and keeping teams on track;
Ability to build efficient HR processes from scratch, motivate and lead young generations with empathy;
Promoting mindfulness and stress reduction.
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As a certified Agile enthusiast and project manager with a good sense of humor, strong analytical skills and great problem-solving capabilities, I am focused on helping the team focus on creating high-value increments and managing flow. The skills I bring as an Agile expert are:
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During the three-year period of 2020-2023 I was a lecturer and teacher at the Swiss International Institute Lausanne, the Institute of Applied Psychology and GeekBrains, where I authored and taught courses on Agile, Scrum, Kanban, teamwork, motivation and general management.
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As a result of my efforts, I received a great deal of positive feedback from my students, including over 600 reviews for my course on Agile methodologies. For example: “Great course! Very useful information, the teacher is a professional, always answers all questions, explains everything clearly. It's a pity that the course ended so quickly :).”
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Most of my students belonged to Generation Y (Millennials) and Z, so I know how to engage and lead this young generation and be on the same page as them.
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My course “Foundation of Agile Teamwork” consists of 12 lessons:
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By the way, my course is available, in English, for free, as a mutually beneficial opportunity — for you to learn Agile and teamwork, and for me as a teacher to perfect my English. So, if you are interested, please contact me :)
Between 2017 and 2020, I actively pursued various psychological courses, including neuropsychology, sexology, and psychosomatic disorders. These courses aimed to provide me with a comprehensive perspective on mental disorders, allowing me to develop a holistic understanding.
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In 2021, our family relocated to Ukraine with the intention of establishing a small family center in Uzhgorod, offering with my wife ABA-therapy for children with autism. Unfortunately, our plans were thwarted by the outbreak of war, which had an unexpected and profound impact on our lives. War, often seen as a triumph of the unconscious over the conscious, disrupted our aspirations.
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The reason I chose to pursue a career as a psychoanalyst is because I was drawn to its realistic perspective, which delves into the fundamental causes of human issues. I believe that our illusions act as obstacles, hindering our progress towards achieving our objectives.
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In Ancient Greece, the temple of Apollo at Delphi bore several inscriptions, and among them, one profoundly resonates with psychoanalysis: "Know thyself". This field of study, indeed, seeks to achieve precisely that — a deeper self-awareness and understanding.
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I was born September 12, 1980, in Moscow. I've been active in sports since I was a child, and I continue to enjoy hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, mountain skiing, snorkeling, along with reading / listening to books, writing analytical articles, learning yoga and qigong.
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In 1994, I had the opportunity to participate in an English language exchange program in the United Kingdom. In 2002 I graduated from Moscow State University of Design and Technology as an engineer with a specialist degree, however, due to my passion for working with people, I decided to embark on a career in the field of Human Resources Management.
In 2014, my wife and I made a decision to relocate to Costa Rica, where we resided and worked until 2017.
Living in Costa Rica proved to be a transformative experience, as it led me to discover my newfound passion for psychoanalysis.
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Between 2016 and 2019, I pursued and successfully completed a bachelor's degree in psychoanalysis at the Eastern European Institute of Psychoanalysis. Subsequently, I furthered my education by undertaking advanced training in family and child psychotherapy, as well as coaching.
The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered:
“Man! Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
The ancients referred to the inner world of a human being as the psyche, a microcosm or a miniature universe. Socrates believed that true understanding of the world could only be achieved through self-knowledge. In the perspective of the Indians of Mexico, the world comprises seven directions: aside from the four familiar ones, there are three additional directions - "Up", "Down", and "Inward".
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When we direct our focus inward, a transformative process occurs — psychologists term this state of the psyche as "authentic", Confucianism describes it as following your "Tao", and the Vedic tradition refers to it as "Dharma", where one aligns with their destiny. This path of harmony and success is the only approach I am acquainted with.
“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life.” — John Lennon
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” — Carl Gustav Jung
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As a result, I discovered mindfulness and realized that achieving balance, love, and compassion are essential for a fulfilling life.
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SUMMARY
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Reliable and result-oriented HR professional with 15+ years of experience in people operations, author of a teamwork course, teacher, psychologist, coach, certified project manager and Agile enthusiast (PSM, PSPO, PSK, PAL) with system thinking, strong analytical skills, problem-solving capabilities, and good sense of humor. Eligible to work in Canada (CUAET).
Personality: ENFJ-A, Supporter (S). Portfolio.
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SKILLS
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Human Resources, Recruitment, Retention, Onboarding, Offboarding, 1-on-1s, Staff Outsourcing, HRIS, Payroll, Team Building, Coaching & Mentoring, Cross-Cultural Communication, Teamwork Coordination, Agile Project Management, Scrum & Kanban adoption, Training & Development, Customer Service, Program Management, General Management.
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Computer Software: Jira, Confluence, Asana, Notion, Monday, Miro, Google Workspace, MS Office, BambooHR, HubSpot, Sales Navigator, Slack.
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Languages:
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Driver's license – Class 5, 6.
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POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION
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2016-2019 – East-European Institute of Psychoanalysis, Psychoanalyst, Bachelor’s degree.
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1997-2002 – Moscow State University of Design and Technology, Fur and leather technology, Engineer, Master’s degree / 2019 – Nostrification of the diploma at Univerzita Tomáše Bati ve ZlĂnÄ›, Czech Republic.
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WORK EXPERIENCE
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August 2021 – July 2023 (full-time, contract, remote) / New York, U.S.
HR Manager
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Mental Health Counsellor, Family Counsellor, Coach
October 2017 – July 2023 (part-time, self-employed, on-site/remote)
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Swiss International Institute Lausanne
March 2021 – present (part-time, contract, remote) / Montreux, Switzerland
Professor
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September 2020 – September 2022 (part-time, contract, remote) / Moscow, Russia
Teacher
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Institute of Applied Psychology in Social Sphere
May 2020 – May 2022 (part-time, contract, remote) / Moscow, Russia
Professor
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February 2020 – August 2021 (full-time, on-site) / Moscow, Russia
General Director
When I first joined the company, I was given the challenge to make it profitable. It required the reorganization of all work processes:
As a result of my efforts, growth of revenue in 2 years was 548%.
Additionally, we obtained a high customer satisfaction rating for our internet store by improving both the quality and speed of responding to our customer needs.
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Cafeteria “PARIM-VARIM” (VkusVill's startup)
May 2019 – January 2020 (full-time, self-employed, on-site) / Moscow, Russia
HR Business Partner
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January 2017 – May 2019 (full-time, on-site) / Moscow, Russia
Director / Program Manager
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October 2015 – January 2017 (self-employed) / Costa Rica
Founder
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Paradizio Hotel & Luxury Apartments
April 2015 – January 2017 (full-time, on-site) / Costa Rica
HR Coordinator
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August 2013 – March 2015 (full-time, on-site) / Costa Rica
General Manager
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October 2013 – January 2014 (full-time, on-site) / Moscow, Russia
HR Assistant
Assisted with all aspects of Human Resources workflow within the company.
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November 2012 – July 2013 (full-time, on-site) / Moscow, Russia
Procurement Specialist
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October 2010 – November 2012 (full-time, on-site) / Moscow, Russia
People Operations Manager
January 2007 – October 2010 (full-time, on-site) / Moscow, Russia
People Operations Coordinator
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September 2003 – January 2007 (full-time, on-site) / Moscow, Russia
People Operations Manager
November 2002 – August 2003 (full-time, on-site) / Moscow, Russia
HRÂ Administrator
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VOLUNTEERING EXPERIENCE
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August 2023 – Present. Project coordinator at Autism Today Foundation, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.Â
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June 2022 – Present. Volunteering as a mental health counsellor for the RINA.Health project (UK), remotely offering support to Ukrainians affected by the ongoing war.
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October 2010 – May 2011. Volunteered at Danilovcy (Danilov Monastery, Moscow, Russia) helping children from orphanages.
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