Melike Bilgin

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Melike Bilgin is a clinical counselling intern completing her Master of Counselling Psychology at City University of Seattle in Canada. Her work centres on holding space for what clients bring, at whatever pace feels right. She aims to create a space where people can set down what they carry for others and be met without judgment, explanation, or the need to have it figured out first.

Melike works from a person centred foundation, drawing on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). She is interested in how people relate to the parts of themselves they find hardest to accept, and in helping clients build a life shaped by their values rather than by avoidance of discomfort. Her practice is trauma informed and grounded in social justice, with attention to how migration, culture, and systems shape the way distress shows up in the body and in relationships. She works collaboratively and invites clients to set the pace.

Melike welcomes individuals and couples navigating trauma, anxiety, life transitions, identity and belonging, workplace stress and burnout, and relationship concerns. She has a particular interest in supporting immigrant and newcomer families.

Highlights:

  • Melike is completing her Master of Counselling Psychology at City University of Seattle in Canada, grounded in trauma informed and social justice oriented practice. She brings Gottman Method Level 1 training to her work with couples, helping partners recognize their patterns with more clarity and less blame, and is working toward Level 2 certification as she begins her internship.

  • Melike has worked in the public and nonprofit sectors across British Columbia, including roles with the BC Care Providers Association, St. Paul's Foundation, and SafeCare BC. Her work has spanned program development, stakeholder engagement, research informed strategy, and workplace psychological health and safety. These roles gave her a close view of how organizational and systemic conditions shape individual wellbeing, and deepened her interest in care that addresses context rather than symptoms alone.

  • Melike's capstone examines the clinical application of relational somatic approaches to the complex trauma of immigration and forced migration, with families and couples. Integrating Polyvagal Theory, EMDR, and somatic practice, her capstone explores how physiological regulation and bilateral stimulation can be adapted for clients carrying the somatic imprints of displacement and cultural transition. Relational accountability sits at the centre of the work, positioning ethical practice as a clinical responsibility. The research asks how practitioners can stay culturally attuned and ethically grounded at the intersection of neurobiology and social justice, and aims to bridge theoretical frameworks with the realities of active clinical practice.