For practitioners · For parents · For event hosts

What I'm up to, between practices.

I'm a child psychologist by training. I run a six-location children's practice in Bulgaria, work with private-practice owners and a small number of families abroad, and write about both. I keep a short list. When an opening comes up I reach out to people on it. Not selling, just keeping in touch. asideIf you've ever been on a list that sells you something every Tuesday, this is the other thing.

Dr. Rusi Zhelev, looking at the camera.

The work

Three things. Nothing else.

For practitioners — solo and scaling.

How I work

I work with two kinds of practice owners. The first is the solo practitioner — psychologist, speech therapist, OT — working with children and parents, trying to make their first 100k a year without burning out. The second is a built practice that's running but stuck under a million; the founder is still the bottleneck and the team isn't compounding. Different lifts, same operator mechanics: hiring, pricing, the sales motion, the systems under the clinical work. I built those for myself across six locations. I'll show you how I'd build them for you. asideI had the dragon mascot suit so you don't have to.

For parents — order, not yelling.

About this work

I work with families who want to bring back traditional values — order, discipline, calm — without screaming, without punishment, without guilt, without giving in. Behavioural science, applied at home, by parents. Most of what I do here is private 1-on-1 consulting on the specific decision in front of you: which specialist for your child, what to actually expect from them, what to stop doing yourself. The framework is the same one I've taught at over 100 paid parenting seminars to 8,000+ parents in Bulgaria — "The First 7" — adapted for your kitchen.

Speaking.

The 2026 list

I speak to operators, practitioners, and parent groups. A limited number of invited dates a year. In 2026 I'm also running a small in-person event series of my own — intimate rooms, operator-grade conversations, no stage lighting. The list opens before the first date is announced.

Where the work has shown up

A short list. No logos.

  • 2008Graduated BA Psychology. Started as a child psychologist.
  • 2009A garage at €50 a month. The only regulatory requirement was a toilet.
  • 2011First real office with my sister. The dragon-mascot era begins.
  • 2013Second location. Premium service. Booked six weeks ahead.
  • 2013–2024100+ paid parenting seminars. 8,000+ parents trained on "The First 7."
  • 2015Erasmus year at Izmir University; experimental teaching at VTU.
  • 2019–2022Premium locations 3, 4, 5, then 6 (Plovdiv, with a partner).
  • 2024April 30. First real application of the marketing system. Full capacity in 10 days.
  • 2025First paying advisory clients in the United Kingdom and the United States.
  • 2026Launching ZaDeteto — the verified-specialist platform for Bulgarian children's services. PhD ongoing.

Stay close.

I write when I have something useful, and when an opening comes up I let the list know first. No spam, no automated sequences, no countdown timers. asideIf a countdown timer ever appears on this site, assume the site has been hacked.