About
Hi, I’m Mikaela, a counselling psychologist with a strong belief that every person is deserving of self-regard, respect, and support to live their best life. From the moment we meet I will receive you and your concerns without judgment. I am trained in multiple modalities to support people like you to feel better. Whether you have been experiencing depression, low mood or anxiety, panic attacks, trauma-related symptoms, low self-esteem, or any of the many other challenges that one can experience in life, I am here to help.
I will accept you and respect you as you are, a person deserving of unconditional worth. I will do my best to be genuine, real, and create a secure environment to explore your challenges.
How I Work
Who I help
I have experience supporting individuals with a range of concerns including: depression, anxiety, trauma/PTSD, bereavement, relationship and family challenges, low self-esteem, sexual and gender identity, workplace stress, and neurodiversity (e.g., ADHD, autism). I have also worked with many clients whose difficulties have arisen from acquired brain injury (ABI), accidents, or chronic conditions and hold a certificate in ABI awareness from the Edinburgh Headway Group. Additionally I have garnered specific experience supporting people in the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as ethnically and culturally diverse individuals. I have worked in the NHS, third sector organisations, and private practice.
My Approach
My approach is based on a deep-rooted respect, and unconditional regard for you, the client, and includes the humanistic belief that you are the expert on yourself. This means I work alongside you, listen to your preferences, and utilise my training, experience, research, and knowledge, in a unique combination to support you and your specific concerns. I will be your guide and we will determine the path and methods together. I provide a lot of information on the process and feel it’s important to be genuine and transparent in our work and my knowledge.
The methods we may utilise to support their wellbeing include elements of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Person-centred Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), psychodynamic psychotherapy, and others.
When appropriate I enjoy using humour and find laughing together in sessions can provide its own sense of relief.
I have specific expert knowledge on the relationship between lifestyle factors (e.g., physical activity, nutrition, sleep) and mental health. I have recently published a peer-reviewed article on the subject and conducted five pieces of research over four years on this important connection. This knowledge has been helpful to my clients in therapy and we utilise it in different ways – most often checking in on these foundational elements alongside our psychological therapy.
My Background
Prior to becoming a psychologist, I maintained a 15-year career in international marketing and communications. This has given me insight into work related stresses and challenges and positioned me to support others who may be experiencing these difficulties. I greatly enjoyed the creativity of marketing and working to understand what drives human behaviour. After about a decade and a half I decided I wanted to explore human behaviour, health, and wellbeing more deeply to support individuals. At the root of my own wellness journey had been a foundation of physical activity and connectivity with my body so I began by becoming a certified personal trainer and yoga instructor and started supporting individuals through movement and breath.
From there I attained a MSc with distinction in psychology of mental health from the University of Edinburgh where I began my research on the connections between lifestyle factors such as physical activity, nutrition, sleep, and mental health. This is research I built on for the last four years and continue to engage with. One of the questions I investigate is how this research can be integrated into therapy or not. In my practice this might look like me checking in with the client to see how sleep, physical activity, and nutrition are for them and asking if they would like any support to address barriers in meeting the related guidelines for each.
Qualifications & Training
- HCPC registered practitioner psychologist (PYL043417)
- BPS chartered psychologist
- BACP registered member
- NCS accredited member
- Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Part 1 completed | December 2023 - Autism Clinical Interview for Adults (ACIA) Training
Newcastle University | June 2023 - Brain Injury Awareness & Challenging Behaviour Certificate
Edinburgh Headway Group | Awarded 2020 - Doctorate (Dpsych), Counselling Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University
- MSc, Psychology of Mental Health, awarded with distinction, University of Edinburgh
