Dr Mikaela Sansone-Pollock
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
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 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.
My experience/who I work with
I have experience supporting individuals with a range of concerns including: depression, anxiety, PTSD, bereavement, interpersonal challenges, self-esteem, sexual and gender identity, and neurodiversity. 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.
Prior to becoming a psychologist I worked for 15 years in international marketing and communications in several different countries. This has given me valuable insight into various workplace environments and stressors which has been helpful in supporting my clients.
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.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Doctorate (Dpsych), Counselling Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University
- MSc, Psychology of Mental Health, awarded with distinction, University of Edinburgh
- 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
Member organisations
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society
This Not For Profit association of counsellors and psychotherapists aim to support the counselling profession, members and training organisations.
In 2013 the NCS register was accredited by the Professional Standards Authority under the Accredited Voluntary Register Scheme. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
The HCPC are an independent, UK-wide health regulator. They set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for 16 professions.
They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards, and they take action if registered health professionals fall below those standards. They were created by a piece of legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001.
Registration means that a health professional meets national standards for their professional training, performance and conduct.
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred).
Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision.
Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training.
All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£80.00 - £100.00
Concessions offered for
Additional information
- I am happy to offer a free 15-minute online consultation to explore if we are a good fit.
- I offer walk and talk therapy outdoors in green space in Edinburgh
Further information
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.
