Irina Pavlova is a practising psychologist and mentor who helps people turn self-understanding into decisions they can act on. She has developed her own practice-based approach to psychological support and writes for Mike’s Balance about psychology, psychological well-being and longevity.
Scope of expertise
Psychological expertise, with clear clinical boundaries
Irina’s work concerns psychology, relationships, personal decisions and psychological support. Her qualifications are in psychology and related professional training, not medicine or psychiatry. Medical questions require clinical evidence and input from suitably qualified specialists.
Professional interests
Irina works with adults and adolescents navigating crises, major changes, difficult decisions and periods of ill health. Her practice covers questions of identity, personal development and feeling stuck, as well as relationship difficulties, family conflict, guilt, shame, the effects of trauma and personal boundaries.
In recent years, Irina has taken a particular professional interest in psycho-oncology, including the ways spoken and unspoken communication may affect how people experience illness and care. This is an area of professional interest, not a claim that a particular intervention has been shown to improve clinical outcomes.
Drawing on years of practice, Irina describes her approach as a combination of systems thinking, trauma-informed support and practical psychological techniques. She aims to help people connect insight with choices they can make and act on, rather than spend indefinitely analysing the past. Her approach is self-developed and is not presented here as an independently validated clinical treatment.
Role at Mike’s Balance
At Mike’s Balance, Irina contributes as an author on psychology, psychological well-being and longevity. Our editorial process distinguishes findings supported by research from professional interpretation, and identifies areas where the evidence remains limited.
Being part of the editorial team does not imply that she provides medical review for every article on the site. Authorship and review roles are identified separately for each publication.
Education and professional training
2024 · Professional retraining
Practical psychology
Academy of Advanced Training and Innovative Staff Development (АНО ДПО «Академия повышения квалификации и инновационного развития кадров»). Awarded the qualification of psychologist on 26 December 2024.
2026 · Professional retraining
Support for survivors of sexual violence
International Academy of Sexology (АНО ДПО «Международная академия сексологии»). Programme in psychological assistance, therapy and support for people who have experienced sexual violence; diploma issued 11 March 2026.
2026 · Continuing professional development
Psycho-oncology
Nauka Psi 2.0 (ООО «Наука Пси 2.0»). A comprehensive approach to supporting people with a cancer diagnosis, their families and medical staff. 162 hours; certificate issued 27 August 2026.
2006 · University degree
Linguistics and teaching
Nizhny Novgorod State Linguistic University, named after N. A. Dobrolyubov. Qualification: linguist and English language teacher.
These qualifications were awarded through Russian higher-education, professional-retraining and continuing-development programmes. They should not be confused with registration or licensing as a clinical psychologist in the UK, the US or another jurisdiction. The documents are reproduced below so readers can examine the stated qualifications.
Independent practice
Outside the editorial team, Irina runs a psychological practice and education and mentoring projects for adults and adolescents. These are independent activities and are not services offered by Mike’s Balance.
Important: Mike’s Balance content is for education, not medical diagnosis or treatment. Psychological support does not replace appropriate medical care. A retraining diploma documents the education and qualification stated on it; it does not establish the effectiveness of every therapeutic method used.