From Surviving to Living

I built The Underneath for people in transition — leaving behind stories, systems, or identities that no longer fit, and searching for a deeper, truer way of living.

My work isn’t about fixing you.
It’s about helping you meet what’s underneath the fear, shame, and expectations — so you can trust yourself and live as you.

If you're questioning who you've been told you should be—and longing to feel safe, embodied, and free in your own voice—you're in the right place. I support people in these in-between places, guiding with compassion, clarity, and grounded transformation.

Roots & Disruption

I was born in a small town in Eastern Russia — highly intuitive, sensitive, and endlessly curious about people. I never fit into traditional boxes. School didn’t interest me unless I cared about the subject. I stood up for kids who were bullied, even when it got me in trouble.

I felt things deeply, and from an early age, I could sense there was always more happening beneath the surface of people’s lives.

My father was a pastor. I grew up surrounded by spiritual rituals, prophecies, and moments that felt otherworldly. That early exposure to faith and mystery shaped me — but it also planted questions I wouldn’t begin to answer until much later.

The Breaking Point & Awakening

When I was a teenager, my family immigrated to the U.S. It was disorienting. We had no community, no support. And not long after we arrived, I was sexually assaulted by someone my family trusted. I told no one for ten years.

Like many trauma survivors, I tried to escape the pain. I married young, but the relationship was toxic. It ended the day he choked me during an argument. As terrifying as it was, that moment broke something open: I knew I couldn’t keep living this way.

The Turning Point

I began the inner work — not just to survive, but to understand myself. I wanted to feel safe in my body again. I wanted to stop numbing out and start living with clarity and intention.

As I healed, something long-buried came to the surface: I’m bisexual.

For years I had hidden that part of myself out of fear, survival, and shame. Coming out wasn’t one dramatic moment — it was a process of slowly reclaiming who I really was.

Being bi is not just an identity; it’s a lens: it’s how I relate to the world, how I connect with people who also feel different, hidden, or fragmented inside themselves.

So I left the relationship. I left the church. I left behind the version of myself built to make others comfortable. And I began rebuilding from the inside out.

From Healing to Guiding

The deeper I went, the more I realized this wasn’t just about my healing. I wanted to help others, too.

I trained in:

  • Clinical Hypnotherapy

  • Trauma-Informed Coaching

  • EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)

  • Sex and Pleasure Coaching

I’ve spent years unlearning shame, exploring my own body and boundaries, and rebuilding my relationship with intimacy — on my own terms.

My Work Today

Now, I work with people who are in the middle of their transitions:

→ People who want to heal from the past
→ People who feel stuck in fear, shame, or disconnection
→ People who want to feel confident, grounded, and sexually alive — not for anyone else, but for themselves

I don’t offer quick fixes or polished perfection.
I offer real, honest support — grounded in both professional training and lived experience.

How I Work

The Reveal Method — Uncover → Unbound → Reveal

  • Uncover — We create safety first.
    Gentle hypnosis, curiosity, and nervous-system
    grounding to meet what’s true without judgment.

  • Unbound — Release patterns that keep you stuck:
    fear, shame, people-pleasing, and inherited beliefs.
    We rewire with practical tools you can use between sessions.

  • Reveal — Integrate a new way of being.
    Voice, boundaries, embodiment,
    and creative expression that actually last.

Modalities I use: Clinical hypnotherapy, trauma-informed
coaching, and research-backed habit change.
Sessions are collaborative and paced to
your nervous system — never pushy, always respectful.

Who I’m Here For

  • People leaving high-control beliefs or communities

  • Immigrants and cross-cultural humans navigating identity

  • Creatives and sensitives who’ve dimmed their voice

  • Anyone in the messy middle of change—between who you were and who you’re becoming

If you’re thoughtful, self-aware, and ready for honest support (not spiritual bypassing or quick fixes), you’ll feel at home here.

What Clients Say

“I feel safe in my body for the first time.”

“I stopped second-guessing myself and started speaking up.”

“I have tools I actually use when I get anxious.”

Credentials (the grounded stuff)

Clinical Hypnotherapist (trauma-informed)

Coaching focused on identity, transitions, and confidence

5+ years guiding clients through healing and change

What I Believe

  • You are not broken.

  • Your body is wise.

  • Healing is not performance—it’s relationship with yourself.

  • Slow and honest beats fast and performative.

  • Depth creates freedom.

Ready to Begin?

Want to explore what’s underneath?

I offer a free 30-minute discovery call to see if we’re a fit and map your next step.

→ Book a discovery call
 → Read articles from The Underneath

“I have accepted my nose for the first time.” – Alina

I live in the Seattle area, where this path continues—step by step, story by story, uncovering what’s underneath.