Mrs Micaella Gogoski

A conversation with Micaella Gogoski

• What led you to choose psychotherapy or counselling as a profession?

  I was drawn to psychotherapy through a deep interest in people’s inner worlds and how we make sense of suffering, change, and connection. Over time, both personally and professionally, I have experienced my own grief and loss, which has given me a lived understanding of how profoundly these experiences can shape identity, relationships, and the way we move through the world. Becoming a parent has also deeply expanded my understanding of attachment, vulnerability, and the emotional intensity that comes with caring for new life and navigating ongoing change within oneself.
  Alongside this, I developed a strong passion for understanding trauma and its impact on the body, mind, and relationships. I am particularly interested in how early experiences and overwhelming life events can shape patterns of protection, survival, and disconnection, and how healing can emerge through safety, awareness, and relational repair.
  I also witnessed how grief, trauma, and emotional distress show up in corporate environments, often in less visible ways. Many people appeared highly capable on the outside while feeling disconnected, overwhelmed, or quietly burnt out on the inside. That contrast stayed with me and deepened my curiosity about what it means to feel truly connected to oneself.
  These experiences shaped my commitment to a relational and depth oriented approach to therapy, grounded in empathy, compassion, and genuine curiosity. I am continually moved by the importance of being deeply seen and understood, and the potential for healing that emerges within a safe and attuned therapeutic relationship.

• Which philosophical approaches have influenced your professional development?

  
  My professional development has been shaped by several philosophical and therapeutic approaches that share a respect for human complexity, subjectivity, and the importance of relationship in healing.
  A person centred philosophy forms a core foundation of my work, particularly the belief in each person’s inherent capacity for growth when met with empathy, authenticity, and unconditional positive regard. I hold a deep respect for the client as the expert in their own experience.
  Existential thinking has also influenced me, especially its focus on meaning making, freedom, responsibility, and the realities of suffering, loss, and change. I am drawn to the way existential ideas make space for uncertainty and the human struggle to find purpose within it.
  Psychodynamic and relational approaches have significantly shaped my clinical lens, particularly in understanding how early relationships inform present patterns, how unconscious processes influence experience, and how healing often occurs within the therapeutic relationship itself.
  I also draw strongly from trauma informed perspectives, including somatic and attachment based understandings of how the nervous system responds to overwhelming experiences. This has deepened my appreciation for how symptoms can be adaptive responses to survival, rather than problems to be removed.
  Across all of these influences, I am guided by a belief in the importance of connection, safety, and curiosity, and the idea that meaningful change often happens through being deeply seen and understood within relationship.

• Which particular aspects of health or the human journey are you interested in?

  I am particularly interested in the emotional and relational aspects of the human experience, especially how people make sense of themselves through connection, loss, and change.
  Grief and loss are central areas of interest for me, both as universal experiences and deeply individual processes. I am curious about how people carry absence, how meaning is reconstructed after loss, and how love and attachment continue to shape experience even in the face of separation.
  Trauma and its impact on the nervous system, identity, and relationships is another key area of focus. I am interested in how people develop adaptive strategies to survive overwhelming experiences, and how these patterns can later feel limiting or disconnected from a person’s current life.
  Attachment and relational patterns also deeply inform my work. I am drawn to how early experiences shape ways of relating, regulating emotion, and seeking safety in connection with others.
  I am equally interested in transition points across the lifespan, including becoming a parent, identity shifts, and periods of existential questioning or disconnection. These moments often bring both vulnerability and the potential for profound reorientation.
  Alongside this, I have a strong interest in breathwork and somatic practices as ways of supporting emotional regulation and deeper awareness of the body. I am curious about how working with breath can help people access states of grounding, release held tension, and reconnect with parts of themselves that may feel distant or overwhelmed.
  More broadly, I am interested in what supports people to feel more integrated within themselves, more connected in relationships, and more able to inhabit their lives with a sense of meaning and authenticity.

• What methods do you use?

  My approach is integrative and tailored to each person, drawing from a range of therapeutic methods depending on individual needs and goals.
  • Person centred therapy
  Creating a safe, empathic, and non judgemental space where the therapeutic relationship supports exploration, trust, and change
  • Psychodynamic and relational therapy
  Exploring how early experiences and relational patterns influence current thoughts, emotions, and ways of relating, including unconscious processes that emerge within the therapeutic relationship
  • Trauma informed practice
  Working with an understanding of how trauma impacts the nervous system, attachment, and emotional regulation, with attention to safety, pacing, and choice
  • Internal Family Systems
  Supporting exploration of different internal parts of the self with curiosity and compassion, helping to understand protective patterns, wounded aspects, and the innate capacity for healing and integration
  • Somatic awareness
  Supporting awareness of bodily sensations as part of the therapeutic process, helping to connect mind and body and deepen emotional understanding
  • Breathwork
  Integrating breath based practices where appropriate to support grounding, regulation, and access to internal states in a gentle and contained way
  • Collaborative and responsive practice
  Adapting the work to each person, moving at a pace that feels safe, and supporting what is most needed in the present moment

• When do you think the client will start to feel that progress is being made?

  There is no magic pill or set timeline for when progress shows up in therapy. It varies from person to person and depends on many factors, including life experience, nervous system responses such as fight, flight or freeze, and how open and safe someone feels in the process.
  Some people notice small shifts quite early, like feeling more understood or gaining clarity. For others, especially where there is trauma or long standing protective patterns, change can feel slower and more subtle at first.
  Progress is often less about big breakthroughs and more about small changes over time, such as increased awareness, slight pauses before reacting, or a more compassionate relationship with self.
  Readiness is an important first step. Even a willingness to be curious about your inner world can begin the process of change. From there, therapy unfolds at a pace that allows trust, safety, and genuine integration to build.

• How has therapy made a difference in your life?

  
  Therapy has deeply shaped the way I understand myself, others, and the human experience. It has given me a lived appreciation of what it means to sit with difficult emotions rather than move away from them, and how healing often comes through being met with steadiness, curiosity, and care in relationship.
  It has supported me in making sense of my own grief and loss, and in recognising the ways these experiences continue to influence how I relate, connect, and respond to the world. Therapy has also helped me become more aware of my internal patterns, including protective responses that once felt automatic.
  Becoming a parent has further highlighted the importance of slowing down, noticing, and staying present with emotional experience, both my own and others. Therapy has supported me in holding the complexity and intensity that can come with that transition.
  Overall, therapy has reinforced my belief that change is not about becoming someone else, but about developing greater understanding, compassion, and integration within oneself. It continues to be both a personal and professional anchor in how I show up in my life and work.

• What do you like most about being a therapist?

  What I value most about being a therapist is the privilege of being alongside people in some of their most honest and vulnerable moments, and witnessing the courage it takes to turn toward oneself.
  I am deeply moved by the therapeutic relationship itself, the process of building trust over time, and the subtle but meaningful shifts that can emerge when someone feels genuinely seen, heard, and not alone in what they are carrying.
  I also find it meaningful to sit with the complexity of people’s inner worlds, including the parts that feel conflicted, protective, or painful. There is something powerful about approaching these experiences with curiosity rather than judgement, and seeing what becomes possible from that place.
  Being able to support people in making sense of grief, trauma, and life transitions is a real honour, particularly when those experiences begin to feel less overwhelming and more integrated over time.
  At its core, I value the human connection at the centre of this work, and the reminder that healing often happens in relationship, through safety, presence, and being understood.

• Do you ever have 'bad hair' days?

  
  Yes, absolutely. I think it would be unrealistic to say otherwise.
  There are days where I feel more tired, less focused, or more affected by what I am holding in sessions, especially when working with grief, trauma, or complex emotional material. Being a therapist does not remove human experience, it just means I stay committed to noticing it and working with it as best I can.
  On those days, I rely on the same principles I offer clients: slowing down, grounding, self reflection, and allowing space for what is present rather than pushing through it. Support, supervision, and my own ongoing therapy are also important parts of maintaining steadiness in the work.
  I think these moments are a reminder that therapy is a human process, not a perfect one, and that authenticity and self awareness matter more than appearing unaffected.

• What do you think is the most significant problem we face, in the world today?

  One of the most significant challenges we face today is a growing disconnection from emotional awareness and nervous system regulation, both within individuals and across society.
  Many people are not given the opportunity to learn how to recognise, understand, or regulate their emotional experience. These skills are often not taught in schools, and for many families, there is limited time, capacity, or modelling available to support this kind of learning at home. As a result, people can grow up without a clear sense of how to stay with or make sense of their internal world.
  At the same time, modern life can feel increasingly fast paced and overstimulating. Social media and constant digital input can further amplify comparison, overwhelm, and disconnection from the body and present moment. This can make it harder to notice internal cues or to feel grounded in oneself.
  Many parents are also navigating significant pressures, which can impact the emotional availability needed to support children in developing these foundational skills.
  From a therapeutic perspective, I see this showing up in patterns of anxiety, burnout, emotional numbing, and relational disconnection. I believe that developing greater emotional literacy, nervous system awareness, and capacity for connection, both within ourselves and in relationships, is central to wellbeing and to how we move forward collectively.

• Can you share the name of a book, film, song, event or work of art that inspires you?

  Mans Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl