uniquely blends her experience and expertise as a psychotherapist with a vast array of mind-body and energy techniques.
Elena was born in Crimea, on the Black Sea, in a family of a Russian Navy officer and a nurse. Her mother Roza was known in the local medical community for her cheerful disposition and her healing talents. When she worked in a cardiac unit, patients applauded when she greeted them in the morning: all of them had heard a rumor that "nobody ever died during Khazanova's shift".
By the age of 15, Elena knew she wanted to be a psychotherapist; unfortunately, it was a rare university that trained clinical psychologists during the Soviet era. At 17, Elena enrolled in the Tavrida University as an Education major. As much as she enjoyed teaching, however, she was always drawn to healing as her other "great love". She volunteered at the clinic where her mother was practicing and listened raptly to the medical "shop talk". Elena also went to a traditional healer who had been known to treat degenerative illnesses with massage, herbs, and fresh plant juice.
When Elena's family moved to the US in 1996, she found herself drawn to the fields of bodywork and energy healing. She studied at the Potomac Massage Institute and became licensed to practice massage therapy. She also became trained and certified as a Reiki Master and studied Cranio-Sacral Therapy, a technique that has a deeply calming and healing effect on the nervous system.
At the age of 29, Elena noticed that her physical energy started declining early in the day. It became more and more difficult to see clients in the afternoon. Gradually, she became unable to work. She woke up multiple time each night with heart palpatations and had frequent panic attacks. Medical tests showed a serious thyroid imbalance, usually treated through surgery.
During this difficult period, Elena experimented with multiple healing modalities: meditation, psychotherapy, acupunture and Chinese herbs, bodywork and energy work. Being unable to see clients meant that she had ample time to read and explore. More and more, she discovered that she wanted to do something very different from what she had been doing: to integrate body- and energy work with talk therapy. After Elena submitted her application to a graduate program in Counseling, her heart palpatations stopped, and, within a year, the thyroid tests were within the normal range.
After graduating from Loyola College with a Counseling degree, Elena started exploring ways in which traditional talk therapy could be combined with other forms of healing. She now uses a number of integrative techniques, such as Mindfulness, Emotional Freedom Technique, and Applied Kinesiology, to support her clients in their healing and growth. Elena has also been teaching integrative healing methods in the community and with other health professionals.
Elena lives and practices in Maryland. She is married and is raising a young daughter. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, cooking, and relaxing with family and friends.
For more info, please E-mail or call: 240-215-5526
