Why This Work Matters to Me
I came to this work through years of study, practice, and a lot of honest self-reflection. Not a sudden calling — more a steady decision to keep learning, keep refining, and keep asking better questions.
I grew up in a family of intelligent, analytical, highly capable people. Education and achievement mattered. Ideas mattered. What fascinated me early on was something else: why do smart, thoughtful people still struggle to feel emotionally safe with each other? Why can two brilliant minds misunderstand each other so deeply?
That curiosity became my compass.
I studied Pedagogics and Psychology with a focus on humanistic education and developmental psychology — approaches built on respect for a child’s dignity and inner world. In contrast to what is sometimes called “dark pedagogy” — where fear, comparison, or shame are used to shape behavior — humanistic pedagogy protects self-worth while encouraging growth. During my teaching practice in a Classical Gymnasium in Kyiv, I noticed how much teachers competed for students’ attention, trying to pull it away from smartphones and tablets. At the same time, many young people were left alone with one of the biggest questions of their lives: how to choose a path that actually fits their interests and abilities.
I became interested in motivation — how learning can feel alive instead of forced. I studied gamification and learning design, exploring how structure, feedback, and gradual challenge keep people engaged. Quite unexpectedly, my path led me into game design at Disney. It sounds glamorous — and it was creative and exciting. It also taught me what real burnout feels like. That experience quietly shifted something in me.
After receiving career coaching myself, I decided to build work that felt more aligned. I co-founded a company helping organizations develop educational projects, including a United Nations initiative in Ukraine supporting young people in career choices. Working with different industries, I saw the same pattern again and again: high-performing professionals with impressive achievements — and quiet confusion about meaning, direction, and relationships.
I trained as a Master Life and Career Coach and worked with people who seemed successful on the outside but privately struggled with self-doubt, boredom, relational tension, or a constant pressure to prove themselves. And I noticed something important: insight and planning are not enough. People can understand their patterns perfectly. They can analyze their childhood, their attachment style, their five-year plan. Yet anxiety stays. The inner critic returns. The same relational loops repeat.
It was like watching someone stand on a moving treadmill, trying to run harder instead of adjusting the speed.
That realization led me into clinical training.
Through a two-year one-to-one mentorship in hypnotherapy, with over 300 hours of supervised study and practice, I began to understand how emotional habits are wired at a deeper, automatic level. Later, I completed a Level 5 Higher Diploma in Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy with the UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy — an intensive program grounded in learning theory and approved by professional bodies such as the British Psychological Society and the National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists.
What became clear to me is this: many patterns start as clever survival strategies. At some point, they made sense. Overworking, overthinking, avoiding conflict, staying independent at all costs, securing closeness by self-sacrifice — they all once protected something important. But when the mind says, “I want to change,” and the nervous system says, “No, this is safer,” logic alone cannot resolve that tension.
This is where Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy becomes powerful. We work with thoughts and behavior directly, but we also create structured, focused learning experiences that allow the nervous system to update its expectations. Not through drama. Not through catharsis. Through repetition, clarity, and carefully calibrated challenges — like adjusting the difficulty level of a game so growth feels demanding but possible.
Today, I work mostly with thoughtful, self-aware people who live with social anxiety, fragile self-esteem, or anxious and avoidant relationship patterns. People who want to feel close without losing themselves. Independent without being isolated. Calm without shutting down.
In our work, you are not “fixed.” You are guided to observe your thoughts the way ACT describes it — like watching passing weather rather than arguing with every cloud. We identify the loops, understand what they are trying to protect, and build alternative responses step by step. You stay in control. We move with intention.
My path has been both professional and deeply reflective. I know how tempting it is to try to improve yourself into safety. I also know that real stability comes not from becoming perfect, but from becoming steady.
Confidence does not need to be loud.
Closeness does not require self-sacrifice.
Independence does not require emotional distance.
If you are here, you are probably already someone who thinks deeply. My role is not to think for you — but to help you step off the treadmill, adjust the system, and move forward with more ease and clarity.
Education:
Level 5 Higher Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy, UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy. (12 month program approved by British Psychology Association, National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists)
Advanced one-to-one training in Hypnotherapy with Olga Bondareva (Holistic Mind), a two-year mentorship program integrating theory, supervised practice, and over 300 hours of clinical study.
Master Life Coach, Transformational Academy (Florida, USA), Natalie and DC Joel Rivera — integrative training in career development, life design, personal fulfillment, and structured goal achievement.
Multiple Courses in Gamification (University of Pennsylvania) — training in game-inspired learning design and engagement strategies, covering motivational and feedback mechanics to make educational content more engaging and effective.
Bachelor of Education in Pedagogics and Psychology, National Kyiv Dragomanov Pedagogical University — specialized training in humanistic pedagogy, developmental psychology, and the psychological impact of childhood trauma.
I came to this work through years of study, practice, and a lot of honest self-reflection. Not a sudden calling — more a steady decision to keep learning, keep refining, and keep asking better questions.
I grew up in a family of intelligent, analytical, highly capable people. Education and achievement mattered. Ideas mattered. What fascinated me early on was something else: why do smart, thoughtful people still struggle to feel emotionally safe with each other? Why can two brilliant minds misunderstand each other so deeply?
That curiosity became my compass.
I studied Pedagogics and Psychology with a focus on humanistic education and developmental psychology — approaches built on respect for a child’s dignity and inner world. In contrast to what is sometimes called “dark pedagogy” — where fear, comparison, or shame are used to shape behavior — humanistic pedagogy protects self-worth while encouraging growth. During my teaching practice in a Classical Gymnasium in Kyiv, I noticed how much teachers competed for students’ attention, trying to pull it away from smartphones and tablets. At the same time, many young people were left alone with one of the biggest questions of their lives: how to choose a path that actually fits their interests and abilities.
I became interested in motivation — how learning can feel alive instead of forced. I studied gamification and learning design, exploring how structure, feedback, and gradual challenge keep people engaged. Quite unexpectedly, my path led me into game design at Disney. It sounds glamorous — and it was creative and exciting. It also taught me what real burnout feels like. That experience quietly shifted something in me.
After receiving career coaching myself, I decided to build work that felt more aligned. I co-founded a company helping organizations develop educational projects, including a United Nations initiative in Ukraine supporting young people in career choices. Working with different industries, I saw the same pattern again and again: high-performing professionals with impressive achievements — and quiet confusion about meaning, direction, and relationships.
I trained as a Master Life and Career Coach and worked with people who seemed successful on the outside but privately struggled with self-doubt, boredom, relational tension, or a constant pressure to prove themselves. And I noticed something important: insight and planning are not enough. People can understand their patterns perfectly. They can analyze their childhood, their attachment style, their five-year plan. Yet anxiety stays. The inner critic returns. The same relational loops repeat.
It was like watching someone stand on a moving treadmill, trying to run harder instead of adjusting the speed.
That realization led me into clinical training.
Through a two-year one-to-one mentorship in hypnotherapy, with over 300 hours of supervised study and practice, I began to understand how emotional habits are wired at a deeper, automatic level. Later, I completed a Level 5 Higher Diploma in Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy with the UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy — an intensive program grounded in learning theory and approved by professional bodies such as the British Psychological Society and the National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists.
What became clear to me is this: many patterns start as clever survival strategies. At some point, they made sense. Overworking, overthinking, avoiding conflict, staying independent at all costs, securing closeness by self-sacrifice — they all once protected something important. But when the mind says, “I want to change,” and the nervous system says, “No, this is safer,” logic alone cannot resolve that tension.
This is where Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy becomes powerful. We work with thoughts and behavior directly, but we also create structured, focused learning experiences that allow the nervous system to update its expectations. Not through drama. Not through catharsis. Through repetition, clarity, and carefully calibrated challenges — like adjusting the difficulty level of a game so growth feels demanding but possible.
Today, I work mostly with thoughtful, self-aware people who live with social anxiety, fragile self-esteem, or anxious and avoidant relationship patterns. People who want to feel close without losing themselves. Independent without being isolated. Calm without shutting down.
In our work, you are not “fixed.” You are guided to observe your thoughts the way ACT describes it — like watching passing weather rather than arguing with every cloud. We identify the loops, understand what they are trying to protect, and build alternative responses step by step. You stay in control. We move with intention.
My path has been both professional and deeply reflective. I know how tempting it is to try to improve yourself into safety. I also know that real stability comes not from becoming perfect, but from becoming steady.
Confidence does not need to be loud.
Closeness does not require self-sacrifice.
Independence does not require emotional distance.
If you are here, you are probably already someone who thinks deeply. My role is not to think for you — but to help you step off the treadmill, adjust the system, and move forward with more ease and clarity.
Education:
Level 5 Higher Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy, UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy. (12 month program approved by British Psychology Association, National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists)
Advanced one-to-one training in Hypnotherapy with Olga Bondareva (Holistic Mind), a two-year mentorship program integrating theory, supervised practice, and over 300 hours of clinical study.
Master Life Coach, Transformational Academy (Florida, USA), Natalie and DC Joel Rivera — integrative training in career development, life design, personal fulfillment, and structured goal achievement.
Multiple Courses in Gamification (University of Pennsylvania) — training in game-inspired learning design and engagement strategies, covering motivational and feedback mechanics to make educational content more engaging and effective.
Bachelor of Education in Pedagogics and Psychology, National Kyiv Dragomanov Pedagogical University — specialized training in humanistic pedagogy, developmental psychology, and the psychological impact of childhood trauma.
Maryna Saienko
Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapist
Specialist in Self-Esteem and Social Anxiety
Specialist in Self-Esteem and Social Anxiety
Contact:
saienkomary@gmail.com
WhatsApp: +15207050994
Marywhy.com
WhatsApp: +15207050994
Marywhy.com
Prenzlauer Berg,
Berlin, Germany
Berlin, Germany
