Olesya Van Dijck, LPC
Therapist
Olesya Van Dijck, LPC, ATR-PEFT Couples Counselor, Trauma-informed Holistic Psychotherapist & Art Therapist
“Couples often find themselves stuck in the same painful conversations over and over again. Together we slow things down to explore the patterns beneath these moments.”
Book a 30-minute consultation call
Olesya's specialties
Virginia
Who she works with
Olesya works with couples who feel caught in the same arguments, or unsure how to rebuild trust after hurt, leaving both partners feeling blamed, misunderstood and disconnected. She helps couples navigate these ongoing communication issues, difficulty rebuilding trust after a rupture/ infidelity, the strain of major life transitions, or a growing sense of distance in the relationship.
Alongside her couples work, Olesya sees individual adults navigating relationship distress, trauma and attachment wounds, anxiety, depression, grief and loss, addiction, and the aftermath of domestic violence or emotional/ physical abuse. Her academic research examined trauma among survivors of intimate partner violence in Eastern Europe and South Africa, and that work still shapes how she sits with clients.
How she works
With couples, Olesya primarily uses Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). Rather than simply trying to settle the argument, she helps partners slow down and understand the pattern beneath it. As deeper emotions and needs come into view, partners can begin to see each other less as adversaries and more as two people longing to feel safe, valued, and connected. As a trauma-informed and Polyvagal-informed therapist, Olesya also helps couples create greater safety and regulation with one another—an essential foundation for trust and closeness in a relationship. She also draws on Imago Relationship Therapy when it fits a couple’s needs.
With individual clients, Olesya works in a trauma-informed, integrative way. A lifelong artist and yogini as well as a clinician, she may incorporate somatic therapy, movement, or art therapy when those approaches feel useful, allowing what has been held inside to gently find form, movement, and voice.
“Some experiences live beyond words. Through the body, mindful awareness, and creative expression, clients can discover new pathways to emotion and insight.”
Training & Credentials
MA in Art Therapy, The George Washington University, with a focus on trauma therapy
Licensed Professional Counselor — Washington, DC
Licensed Professional Counselor — Virginia
Registered Art Therapist, Provisional (ATR-P)
Postgraduate training in Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples, ICEEFT
Postgraduate training in Imago Therapy for Couples, ICEEFT
Recognized for academic research on the effects of trauma on survivors of intimate partner violence in Eastern Europe and South Africa
What a first session is like
After your free 30-minute consultation, if it feels like the right fit, you will schedule your first full 50–55-minute session.
For individual therapy, the first few sessions are a chance to begin developing a fuller, more holistic understanding of what you are facing now. Olesya will learn about your history, when the current concerns began or became more difficult, what has shaped them, and what you have already tried. Together, you will start to make sense of the larger context around your experiences and identify where the work can begin.
For couples, the first full session focuses on understanding your relationship, the concerns that brought you in, and the pattern that may be keeping you stuck. Each partner then has an individual intake session with Olesya, giving her the opportunity to understand each person’s history and perspective. Ongoing sessions are generally held together as a couple.
If that sounds like what you are looking for, book a 30-minute consultation call with Olesya.
Questions people ask Olesya
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Couples often arrive having spent months explaining themselves to someone who stayed neutral but was wrapped up in the content of your argument. EFT works differently: the focus is on the cycle the two of you fall into in these difficult moments and arguments. Olesya helps you slow down and understand that pattern, explore what’s underneath it and learn to respond differently in difficult moments.
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It depends. If your partner is reluctant about Couples Therapy, you can still book a consultation and meet with Olesya on your own to talk through what is happening if you’re open to Individual therapy for your relationship struggles. Relationship work done in individual therapy is also benefticial and a lot can shift at home when one person changes how they handle the pattern. So if you are open to individual therapy, the consultation is still worth having.
However, if you’re just interested in Couples Therapy, then one thing to know before you decide is that if Olesya becomes your individual therapist, she cannot later be your couples therapist. Couples work depends on both partners believing the therapist is genuinely even-handed, and a partner who arrives knowing you already have a therapy relationship with that therapist rarely feels that way — however fair the therapist actually is. So if what you are really hoping for is couples therapy with Olesya, then its better to wait until your partner comes around and start that work together.
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Olesya is a self-pay therapist. We provide a superbill for you to submit to your insurance plan for possible out-of-network reimbursement and have also partnered with Reimbusify to make this process seamless. You can check your out-of-network benefits here. This can tell you whether couples or individual therapy is covered and what reimbursement may be available.
We understand therapy can be a investment in yourself and your relationship and do not take that lightly, which is why our therapists are specialized and will make sure they have the tools to help you meet your goals.
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No. Art therapy and somatic approaches are available if they feel helpful to you, and they are never required. Some clients use them throughout therapy, some try them once, and many prefer to work through embodied conversations alone.
Book a free 30-minute consultation call
No waitlists and no phone tag. Pick a time that suits you, and Olesya will call.
