Assistant rector of the metochion of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ on Semenovskaya.
Head of the Center for Crisis Psychology, created with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II at the Patriarchal Compound of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ on Semenovskaya in 2006.
Orthodox crisis psychologist.
Editor-in-Chief of the online magazine "Russian Orthodox Psychology".Chief editor of portals memoriam.ru And boleem.com.
Member of the Association of Oncopsychologists of Russia.
Chief expert of the portals of practical crisis Orthodox psychology perejit.ru, pobedish.ru vetkaivi.ru and other group sites (with a total average traffic of 65,000 unique visitors daily). This group of sites is the main one in the provision of psychological assistance in the Russian-language segment of the Internet.
Co-author and author of more than 11 popular books, as well as many publications and interviews on Orthodox psychology. Compiler of a series of books for those experiencing grief. Many materials on crisis Orthodox psychology have been translated and published in English, Romanian, Chinese, Ukrainian, and German. The book Siguran Oslonac u Krizi, consisting of articles, interviews and publications, was published in Serbian.
Has extensive experience in leadership, organization and systematization of volunteer work.
Since 2005, together with other specialists, he developed the concept of providing psychological and counseling assistance on the Internet (sites of the Survive group), administered these major projects, was involved in filling content and, together with specialists, developed a strategy for effective search engine promotion. He was also involved in the development of groups in online communities with Orthodox and psychological content.
For many years, he has been working closely with many media outlets, has various publications in large-circulation magazines, newspapers, and is involved as an expert on various TV programs and leading radio stations (in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus)
Conducts extensive teaching, scientific and social work.
Conducts individual consultations and courses for people experiencing a crisis (registration by phone +7 925-642-34-61).
In 2013, as part of a group of specialists (professor, head of the department of suicidology of the Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry. E. B. Lyubov, researcher A. G. Gladysheva - department of suicidology MNIIP, forensic expert P. A. Rozumny, psychiatrist A. V. Baranchikov) participated in developing criteria for classifying information as pro-suicidal for the joint order of Roskomnadzor, the Federal Drug Control Service of Russia, and Rospotrebnadzor dated September 11, 2013.
- In various regions he conducts seminars for psychologists from the Ministry of Defense, the FSB, the Ministry of Emergency Situations on the topic “Providing psychological, spiritual and moral assistance to combatants and forced migrants” (Rostov-on-Don, Kamchatka Territory, Novosibirsk Region, etc.)
- With the blessing of the ruling bishops, he conducts seminars for priests - “Modern pastoral counseling - old mistakes and new effective tools.” In 2014, Seminars were held in the Minsk Theological Academy and Seminary, Pinsk Diocese, Novosibirsk Metropolis, Kamchatka Diocese, Omsk Metropolis, Eastern Vicariate of Moscow, etc.
- He has also been conducting lectures and seminars in Belarus for several years - at the Institute of Journalism of the BSU, the Sakharov Institute, and other educational institutions
- Participated as an organizer speaker in the Belarusian-Russian scientific and practical seminar “Psychological and spiritual causes of suicide. Strategies of Assistance and Prevention", the audience of which, in particular, were representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus (held at the Institute for Educational Development of the Minsk Region)
- He spoke at various events at the invitation of Metropolises and dioceses in Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk, Rostov-Don, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, as well as Christmas Readings in Moscow
Professional interests:
- Psychological assistance to people experiencing divorce and separation.
- Psychological rehabilitation of people who have experienced grief (death of loved ones, including children), psychological trauma of loss.
- Psychological support for patients suffering from severe somatic diseases with a poor prognosis (including cancer).
- Preventive work to prevent suicides, development of technologies for suicide prevention.
- Promotion of Orthodox and value-oriented information using Internet technologies.
- Organization of psychological and counseling services on the Internet, organization of Internet volunteering.
- Psychological rehabilitation of victims in a war zone (both military personnel and civilians), victims of natural disasters, forced migration, accidents, terrorist attacks, hazing in the army, victims of crimes against the person, incl. with the use of sexual violence (post-traumatic stress reaction after being in an extreme situation).
- Comprehensive spiritual and psychological rehabilitation of people experiencing crisis or traumatic extreme situations (including children).
- Technology of work to promote spiritual and patriotic values in the information environment.
- Crowd psychology /as a section of social psychology/ - methods and forms of work to counter destructive groups and technologies.
ARTICLES AND PUBLISHING:
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SEPARATION WITH YOUR LOVED PERSON:
. “Algorithm for experiencing a love crisis”
. “Families are broken by selfishness”
. "About love addiction"
. "Consolations are not always useful"
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ABOUT FAMILY AND LOVE:
. “You have to learn how to create a strong family”
. "How to win love"
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ABOUT PATRIOTISM, FATHERLAND AND THE NATIONAL QUESTION:
. "Popular oncology for opposition supporters"
. “Exclusive: oncology and the Belarusian opposition”
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LOSS, DEATH OF LOVED ONES:
. “When faith is not enough: Features of non-believers’ experience of the death of loved ones”
. “How to express condolences?”
. “Guilt without the prefix “Be”: What is our guilt before the dead”
. “What to do after receiving sad news?”
. “Why do I need this? Where can I find the answer to this question?
. “If a loved one has died and you want to go to him”
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ABOUT THE CRISES OF LIFE, THE MEANING OF SUFFERING:
. “Reliable support in overcoming the crisis”
. “Where can I cure mental pain?”
. “Drunk commander, or where do our feelings take us?”
.
. “Churchlessness is the best defense against the crisis”
. “Dead ends of life: a view from above”
. “Where does Consciousness live?”
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FOR SURVIVORS OF VIOLENCE:
. “Domestic violence: does a husband beat his wife - does that mean he loves him?”
. "Forgiveness is freeing yourself"
. "Illusions must be destroyed"
. “Overcoming victimization through a correct understanding of life”
. “Every rapist must understand that he is scum”
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ABOUT FEARS AND OBSESSIVE THOUGHTS:
. "Anatomy of Fear"
. “If you don’t take off your rose-colored glasses, reality will do it for you.”
. “Psychological and spiritual methods for overcoming obsessive thoughts”
. “Who imposes obsessive thoughts on us?”
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ABOUT THE DISEASE:
. “Illness as an opportunity for spiritual growth”
. “The influence of forgiveness on the patient’s condition”
. “The need to overcome the existential vacuum in severe somatic patients”
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ABOUT UNWILLING TO LIVE, SUICIDE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES:
On May 25, the third lecture in the series “Don’t let someone leave without love: the departure of loved ones from earthly life as preparation for a meeting with God” took place in the assembly hall of the Saratov Orthodox Theological Seminary. The lecture was given by the head of the Orthodox Center for Crisis Psychology in Moscow, member of the Russian Association of Oncology Psychologists, Mikhail Igorevich Khasminsky.
Mikhail Igorevich spoke about how to express condolences correctly, what words cause mental pain to a suffering person, how to help a person who has lost a loved one, including experiencing feelings of guilt towards him, and whether it is worth informing a loved one about his serious illness.
After the lecture, Mikhail Igorevich answered questions from the audience.
This is the third in a series of lectures “Don’t let someone leave without love: the departure of loved ones from earthly life as preparation for a meeting with God,” conducted by the information and publishing department of the Saratov diocese as part of a grant project. The audience of the lecture are seminary students (future pastors), sisters of mercy of the diocesan relief society, social workers of churches and volunteers of churches visiting city hospitals. The project is also aimed at eliminating the information vacuum on this vital topic in the regional secular media.
Mikhail Igorevich Khasminsky was born in 1969. Formerly a police major. He received his education as a psychologist at the Academy of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. For a long time he worked as a psychologist in a hospice for children with cancer.
Currently he is the head of the Center for Crisis Psychology, created with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II at the Patriarchal Metochion - the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Moscow. Orthodox psychologist, initiator of the development of such a direction in modern psychology as psycho-oncology. Member of the Association of Oncopsychologists of Russia.
Has extensive experience in helping in the most difficult crisis situations.
Editor-in-Chief of the online journal “Russian Orthodox Psychology” (www.dusha-orthodox.ru). Chief expert of the Perezhit.ru group of sites, compiler of a series of books for those experiencing grief. Author of many publications and interviews, as well as co-author of more than 10 popular books. Many interviews and articles on crisis psychology have been translated and published in Serbian, English, Romanian, Chinese, Ukrainian, and German.
Leader of seminars and trainings on practical crisis and Orthodox psychology.
Engaged in scientific, teaching and social activities.
The Center for Crisis Psychology, which he heads, was created more than 10 years ago. The center employs Orthodox psychologists who help anyone who has any questions (problems in relationships in families, fears and obsessive thoughts, violence, stress, and so on). Help is provided to everyone who applies, regardless of age, social status and religion.
Let us recall that the project of the information and publishing department of the Saratov diocese “Do not let you leave without love: the departure of loved ones from earthly life as preparation for a meeting with God” is aimed at eliminating the information vacuum in the regional secular media on this vital topic and at increasing the level of thematic competence of those who, through their work, come into contact with seriously ill and dying people and their loved ones: seminarians (future pastors), sisters of the diocesan Mercy service, parish volunteers and social workers.
Several interviews with I.M. Khasminsky:
Mikhail Igorevich Khasminsky is a famous Russian crisis psychologist, the initiator of the organization of a special center in Moscow at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ (near the Baumanskaya and Semenovskaya metro stations) and its director.
Biography
Mikhail Igorevich born in 1969. Married, has a son.
As for his profession, in the past he was a police major. He received his education as a psychologist at the Academy of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. Has experience working with children suffering from cancer.
Orthodox psychologist, initiator of the development of such a direction in modern psychology as psycho-oncology.
About the Center for Crisis Psychology
This is one of the earliest institutions of this type. Created over 10 years ago. The crisis center employs the best Orthodox psychologists who help almost everyone who comes with any issue (problems in relationships in families, fears and obsessive thoughts, violence, natural disasters, stress, and so on). Help is provided here for both adults and children, both believers (of different religious groups) and atheists.
The attitude of the staff towards everyone is equal, regardless of what kind of payment the person who applied was able to allocate and whether he allocated it at all.
According to crisis psychologist Mikhail Khasminsky, the best reward for work is sincere gratitude and the shining eyes of the healed person.
Activity
This outstanding person, in addition to his main activities aimed at serving God through direct help to people, is also the author of many books, publications, and interviews.
Many of his articles are translated and published in English, Ukrainian, German, Romanian, Chinese and Serbian.
Conducts on-site seminars with practical work, teaches, and promotes spiritual knowledge through the Internet.
Professional interests
The activities of psychologist Mikhail Igorevich Khasminsky are aimed at providing:
- Psychological assistance to adults who are experiencing separation or divorce from a loved one.
- Rehabilitation assistance for those who are experiencing stress from the loss of a loved one (death).
- Support for patients suffering from complex somatic illnesses.
- Help to prevent suicide through certain psychological work.
- Victims in the territory of military operations, natural disasters, terrorist attacks.
- Help for adults and children who have experienced an extreme traumatic situation.
- carrying out work via Skype, promoting information about spiritual values through an Internet resource;
- organization of volunteer activities;
- carrying out work in a segment of the social psychology section - crowd psychology.
Books and publications
Each publication of the crisis psychologist Mikhail Igorevich Khasminsky is the stages of his formation as a person, an outstanding personality, a psychologist. And although some of them were written quite a long time ago, they are still relevant today, since they reflect pressing issues of modern society.
About books by Mikhail Khasminsky by topic:
Psychologist Mikhail Khasminsky about freedom
In the usual understanding of this word, freedom means the absence of any limiting factors that may affect decision-making, action, and so on.
But a person lives in a social environment that periodically changes over the course of his life. And he would like to feel absolutely free from other people and their influences, but this cannot be completely, since every human being is part of society.
According to psychologist Khasminsky, real freedom is freedom from attachments to money, power, and the opinions of others. That is, from the so-called passions in the Bible.
True freedom comes to a person when he learns the truth, which makes him free. And there can be only one dependence in life - from a loving Heavenly Father.
About infantility
Also, according to Mikhail Khasminsky, a problem has arisen in modern society regarding the infantilism of adults. Especially men.
There are several reasons for this. The very first and most important are single-parent families, where sons are often raised by their mother (and grandmothers). This is precisely what gives rise to the problem of infantility in a growing boy. After all, responsibility must be learned from early childhood. Then every man will be mature and adult.
According to the psychologist, a simple method of observation helps to distinguish a truly adult person from an infantile one: if a person comes to a rehabilitation center (or church) as if for help, but at the same time does nothing, but only pours out mental problems and looks for someone to If you would place all responsibility for yourself and your life, then this is a clear sign of immaturity.
As a rule, during consultations certain practical tasks are given that need to be completed. And when a person does something (even if it doesn’t work out very well), wants to truly change, then you can help him, and this already indicates some maturity.
How to help a person who has experienced the death of a loved one? How to cope with pain and despair during illness? How to protect a person from suicide? What is true love? Are psychologists needed at churches?
Conversation with the head of the Center for Crisis Psychology at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ on Semenovskaya, Mikhail Khasminsky.
An unusual combination - the Center for Crisis Psychology at the temple. Is this, perhaps, even the only such center at the temple of the Russian Orthodox Church?
No, not the only one, now there are two more such centers in Moscow, although they are somewhat different from us. Our Center was the first: in 2006, its creation was blessed by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II. The two subsequent centers were created by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and are mainly concerned with helping in family crises. This phenomenon is no longer uncommon; I often travel to various regions and dioceses and see that such communities also gather there. Most recently, Metropolitan Tikhon of Novosibirsk and Berdsk created a community of Orthodox psychologists, and a Crisis Center is being created under him. Thus, this phenomenon can already be called a kind of vector or trend.
- How can you, psychologists, be useful to priests?
In this case, the task is to be useful primarily not to the priests, but to the parishioners. Psychologists do a lot of serious social work, helping people. In fact, this is part of counseling, but not spiritual, but psychological. People often find themselves in difficult situations, serious crises, and the priest cannot deal with the psychological component of these crises, if only because no one taught him this. Of course, practice can be obtained through the service itself, but some specially trained people are also needed who could help a person who is thinking, for example, about suicide. I assure you that such people go to churches and seek help there. And very few clergy are able to help them; I emphasize the word “churchly” here, because these are not only clergy. Unfortunately, very often a person in crisis goes “behind the bench” and meets people there who are completely unprepared to provide such help. This can be compared to a situation when a person comes to a doctor’s clinic, goes to check out his clothes in the cloakroom, and there the cloakroom attendant tells him: “Don’t go to the doctor, I’ll tell you now what and how to do.” And when we ask people why they listened to them, they answer that everything is sacred in church! Such deep trust in the Church leads to the fact that even the grandmother in the church shop is endowed with certain sacred properties, but, to be honest, this is not always justified. Therefore, there must be people who can provide really effective help, not just as psychologists, but at the same time as missionaries, and, of course, the approach must be from an Orthodox point of view.
- Please tell us how you came to this work.
The center was created with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, the initiator was the rector of our metochion, Archimandrite Augustine, and was actively supported in this endeavor by the current Metropolitan of Murom. I came from an oncology center, where I worked for several years, helping cancer patients. There were practically no working conditions there, it was very difficult - there were almost no offices, there was nothing. However, the school there was excellent, especially since I combined this work with volunteering at a hospice for children. There it immediately became clear that psychological theories are often divorced from life. With the help of theory, you can obtain Ph.D. degrees, write abstracts for conferences and, thus increasing your status, advance further. But in practice, it is impossible to help patients with theses. My colleagues and I found some methods and used them, but in the end all methods depended on the person’s worldview, on how the person perceived the disease, how he experienced it. His somatic status directly depended on his spiritual state.
That’s when I myself began to come closer to Orthodoxy. It so happened that until that moment I “understood everything” and respected it, but I was quite far from it and unchurched. And then I realized that in this case it is simply necessary. My churching began, deeper work in this direction began, I began to understand some connections that were not obvious to me before. It turned out so well that it was at that moment that a request appeared, and I became the head of the Center for Crisis Psychology, since then our group of psychologists has been working for 8 years.
Our science is new, but there have always been crises, and accordingly, there have always been solutions to crises. It should be noted that people have always lost loved ones, experienced illness, and with every war there was violence. However, 200 years ago there was not a single psychologist, not a single psychiatrist and not a single antidepressant. So if we are talking about the complete irreplaceability of the science of psychology, then perhaps we can argue about this. Previously, people lived more harmoniously than now - in our time, according to some estimates, in very successful Western countries, about 40% of the adult population regularly use antidepressants. Even if it’s not 40%, but 20% of the population, this is still a colossal figure, and this fact makes you think.
On the other hand, I cannot say that our science is completely unnecessary and useless. Crisis psychology is developing. What is a crisis from a psychological point of view? This is when a mentally normal person finds himself in circumstances that are abnormal for himself. For example, the death of loved ones is a very sharp departure from the framework of the worldview to which a person is accustomed. The same applies to experiences of violence and serious illness. Suicidal thoughts, strictly speaking, are more related to suicidology, but nevertheless they also often accompany crisis states.
In principle, a crisis can be considered, oddly enough, and marriage is also a very sharp turn in life, when old behavioral norms can no longer work, and new ones have not yet been formed. The same applies to the psychology of refugees; this topic, unfortunately, is now relevant, and we also work with it and conduct various events, including educational ones.
Despite the fact that this is taught in various educational institutions, it must be said that, judging by the textbook on crisis psychology, it will basically be one theory: what it looks like, what gradations of states there are, relationships, and so on. However, almost nothing is said about how to actually help people in such conditions. For example, a person has died - secular psychology cannot work here. Symptomatically, you can ease the tension, but helping a person is fundamental: it is impossible to understand where his loved one has gone and what to do now. In any case, frustration appears - the inability to achieve some result. This is why almost no one helps people through grief.
If you look at it in general, a huge number of psychologists help with neuroses, behavior changes, and provide career guidance. What to do when grief comes? Of course, there are specialists who declare that they can help in grief, but I have not yet seen a psychologist working in a secular way who could effectively help in case of severe grief of a person, and we have such potential. Naturally, the point is not in our super-knowledge, but in the foundation on which we are based. If we also introduce a missionary element in a certain way, helping a person to integrate into the Orthodox faith, then he receives a colossal resource, and he receives it from God himself, which determines the efficiency with which we work.
All this does not mean that we force everyone to be baptized, take communion, and so on. Each person makes his own decision. Often I have to say: “You know, you are in despair, you are thinking about very bad things. You are grieving so much, but a certain path is being offered to you. In essence, this is a helping hand, why are you pushing it away? Actually, what are you risking if you grab it? I can roughly suggest where you need to grab a hold, and you can grab it yourself. If it helps you, then you will know that it works." Many people, according to sober reasoning, perceive the situation this way and follow this path.
- Who can contact your Center, what problems do people most often come to?
Any person in a crisis situation can contact our Center. Moreover, the problem must be really serious. The fact is that we do not have the opportunity to deal with people who are, for example, in a state of chronic neurosis not associated with a crisis. We have outlined our specialization as follows: helping people who are grieving, grieving - with the loss of a loved one, with difficult divorces; psychological assistance to people with serious illnesses, refugees, and survivors of violence. We are ready to work across the entire spectrum of crisis conditions; we try not to take on mild cases.
- Tell us a little about the Center’s employees.
We have five psychologists, all Orthodox people, leading church-going lives. Of the most famous names, I will name the wonderful psychologist Lyudmila Fedorovna Ermakova, whom many people know. Of course, we keep in touch with specialists from other centers; we all know each other more or less.
- Are your services free?
Yes, everything is completely free with us, anyone can come, if you wish, you can leave donations, no one forbids this. But our services are certainly free from the very beginning of the Center’s existence.
It's no secret that it is impossible to overcome grief in one go. In your experience, how long do you lead a person who comes to you?
Everything we do is designed for a fairly quick effect. Personally, I usually have two, maximum three consultations. In psychoanalysis, the patient is kept for three to four years, but during this time any crisis will pass on its own. Our specificity is that we need to help effectively and precisely quickly. And here it is important to clearly understand, at the first consultation, what the problem is. The task is not to turn grief itself into joy. It is necessary to direct the black grief, which for some reason went “wrong”, in a different direction, so that it ultimately ends in bright sadness for the deceased person. It is necessary to find where grief is going wrong. If the process proceeds correctly, in accordance with the stages that are determined for grief, then you should not even interfere. If the process is going wrong, then you need to point it out, explain it, and provide some materials. We often encourage people to work independently, because no psychologist can do everything for a person; in any case, the internal work of the patient himself is important.
You and your colleagues are still “piecemeal specimens”. All over the country, people need such specialists, but often they simply cannot find them. As far as I know, you travel a lot around the regions and give many training seminars, including for priests. What is the purpose of these classes, and can priests provide psychological assistance after this?
With the blessing of the ruling bishops in many regions, I have already held seminars dedicated to analyzing the mistakes of pastoral counseling and certain resources that, in modern conditions, pastors could use much more effectively. What are the main topics we discuss? Let's take the feeling of guilt as an example. Sometimes a shepherd, without understanding it, can impose an excessive feeling of guilt on a person. Everyone is human and everyone makes mistakes. This does not mean that all priests are mistaken, it just happens that a very small percentage of cases, but severe ones, are enough. You can give this analogy: it is enough for a good surgeon to make mistakes 10 times out of 1000 cases, but these will be serious mistakes. Therefore, it is best to practice prevention here.
In addition, we talk about what tools and psychological knowledge can be used. There is an opinion that priests should know different theories, for example, personality theories and so on. And, strictly speaking, why? We offer priests practical materials that they can easily understand without special psychological education and then use in practice. We present all this in an understandable and convenient form. As far as I know, all the participants in the seminars and the ruling bishops are very pleased with them.
We are on television, so I can’t help but ask, what role does television play in terms of a person’s psychological state?
Television is a kind of tool. It's like asking what role does an ax play in a person's life? An ax can do very good and very bad things, depending on whose hands it is in. It is very important for a person to shape the environment in which he lives, and first of all, the information environment. We are all human, and psychology has absolutely established that we are imitative, social creatures. If we see that there is only one sin around, then it is easier to cross the line. And sin pours out from television screens a lot and often. Although it should be noted that now there has been some kind of turning point, programs that are important and interesting from the point of view of moral content have begun to appear. I’m not even talking about the Soyuz TV channel, which has long been known as a mouthpiece for morality and responsibility. I see that in some places the situation is starting to change. In general, I and all our specialists often appear on television, on central and non-central channels, so to some extent we also take an active part in this process.
How to protect yourself from the bad influence of central television channels, if it is present? Not to watch at all or to watch selectively?
I think there is no single recipe - everything is determined by the spiritual and moral core. If it is there, a person can protect himself from dirt; he is able to distinguish this dirt. A broad outlook is also important. If vision is narrowed, then a person will bury himself in the “box” and think that the whole world is exactly as it is shown. When one's horizons are broader, a person has more room to maneuver in order not to succumb to such temptation.
Transcript: Tatyana Bashilova