Mma Yeebo

I offer a space where you can explore what’s going on in your life, and be heard. Life might be feeling difficult, overwhelming, or stressful. You might be managing complex trauma or complex emotions that affect your day-to-day life. You may just be wanting deeper exploration of self. Whatever your needs, therapy can be a place to pause, reflect, and begin to understand yourself, including how and when things started to become difficult and what has contributed. You don’t need to have any answers - just curiosity and the willingness to have a first conversation.

I work holistically, guided by your priorities. Together, we can explore the areas of your life that matter most to you - including ones you might not yet realise could benefit from attention. This is in order to ensure that therapy is individualised and tailored your needs. My aim is to help you feel more grounded, notice your strengths, and discover possibilities that feel real and achievable.

My work is trauma-informed, culturally attuned, and open to everyone, with a particular welcome for Black clients, people from racialised communities, LGBTQ+ folks, neurodivergent and disabled people, and anyone who has ever felt overlooked, misunderstood, or marginalised.

Educational Background

• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Newcastle University

• MSc in Neuropsychology, Maastricht University

• BSc (Hons) in Psychology, University of Birmingham

Clinical Background

I am a Clinical Psychologist, registered by the HCPC. I have worked with adults and children experiencing mental health difficulties for approximately ten years. I have been based across a wide range of settings, from community-based mental health services for children and adults to inpatient services for adults and within a men's prison. I have also been based within a health psychology service for adults with long term health conditions, and worked in a charity assessing individuals in immigration detention, many of whom were victims of torture and/or trafficking. I have worked in community and inpatient services for older adults and individuals with dementia and other forms of cognitive decline. Lastly, I lead and managed a CBT service for university students.

My main role within these settings has been the delivery of evidence based individual and group therapy, involving psychological assessment, formulation, and treatment. I have also been involved in clinical research, with both individuals and groups. I have also led a community based research study exploring the mental health and access needs of racially minoritised (BAME) university students.

My clinical interests include: anxiety disorders (generalised anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, panic disorder, illness anxiety, social anxiety); Trauma, PTSD and cPTSD, racial trauma, migration related trauma; childhood abuse; work-related stress and burnout; unusual sensory experiences / psychosis; living with and adjusting to long term health conditions; transitions, grief and loss; recovery from controlling or high-demand environments (including cults, coercive relationships, and rigid religious communities).

I have undertaken and published clinical research in a number of areas.

My Publications

1. Yeebo, M. F., et al. (2025). 'This level of racism has always been there': clinicians' views on supporting racially minoritised university students - a qualitative study in student support services in North East England. BMJ open, 15(12), e092272. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-092272

2. Falcon-Legaz, P., Addy, C., Yeebo, M., Hajaji, Y., Malcolm, A., & Farooq, R. (2025). A Happy Child? A Preliminary Evaluation of Children's Subjective Well-Being in the Children and Young People Secure Estate. Child Abuse Review, 34(3), e70043.

3. Robinson, L. J., Marshall, E., Dodd, A., Yeebo, M., Morrison, R., & Lomax, C. (2024). Developing, delivering and evaluating a university-led cognitive behavioural therapy service for students. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 17, e20. doi:10.1017/S1754470X24000229

4. Yeebo, M., et al. (2024). Student mental health support - exploring the needs of racially and ethnically minoritised students. Pro:NE. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.26475.14881

5. Yeebo, M., et al. (2024, July 23-26). Novel treatment delivery model to increase access to CBT in a student population and support NHS workforce development [Open Paper]. BABCP 52nd Annual Conference, Manchester, UK.

6. Rogers, L. W., Yeebo, M., Collerton, D., Moseley, P., & Dudley, R. (2024). Non-clinical hallucinations and mental imagery across sensory modalities. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 29(2), 87–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/13546805.2024.2313467

7. Yeebo, M. (2023, November 2-3). UKCGE Conference. Exploring the mental health needs of racially minoritised students in the North-East of England [Conference presentation]. UKCGE Conference on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Postgraduate Research, Sheffield, United Kingdom.

8. Yeebo, M. (2023, April 6). How is the mental health strand exploring the mental health needs of racially minoritised students in the North-East of England? [Conference presentation]. Pro.NE Conference, Teesside, United Kingdom.

9. Farooq, R., Abuan, B., Griffiths, C., Usman-Dio, F., Kamal, O., Toor, P., Hajaji, Y., & Yeebo, M. (2022). ‘I didn’t feel as though I fitted in’: Critical Accounts from Aspiring Clinical Psychologists from racially minoritised backgrounds. 22, 6–17.

10. Farooq, R., Addy, C., Yeebo, M., & Hajaji, Y. (2020). "We can’t ever be equal because they’re the kids and we’re the adults”: Reflections on introducing a young people participation and involvement strategy in the Children and Young People’s Secure Estate: A Practice Paper. Journal of Social Care, Vol. 3, Article 6.

11. Yeebo, M., Hajaji, Y., Addy, C., & Farooq, R. (July, 2022). “No-one here looks like me…”. Exploring the experiences of racially minoritised children and young people in the Children and Young People’s Secure Estate [Conference presentation]. Newcastle University Clinical Psychology Doctorate Programme's Equity and Social Justice in Mental Health Conference, Newcastle, United Kingdom.

12. Yeebo M., Addy, C., Farooq, R, Appiah, A., Hajaji, Y., Malcolm, A., & Kennedy, P. J. (May, 2022). “No-one here looks like me…” Exploring the narratives and experiences of racially minoritised children and young people in the Children and Young People’s Secure Estate. Symposium presented at the national organisation for the treatment of abuse (NOTA) annual conference, Leeds, United Kingdom.

13. Appiah, A., Yeebo M., Bamford, J., Thwaites, S., Lomax, C., & Farooq, R. (2021, July) ‘Seeing ‘me’ in Clinical Psychology’: An Evaluation of the North-East BAME Mentoring Scheme Launch for Aspiring Clinical Psychologists. [Poster presentation]. Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK.

14. Richardson, T., Yeebo, M., Jansen, M., Elliott, P. and Roberts, R. (2018), "Financial difficulties and psychosis risk in British undergraduate students: a longitudinal analysis", Journal of Public Mental Health, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 61-68.

15. Richardson, T., Wrightman, M., Yeebo, M., & Lisicka, A. (2017). Reliability and Score Ranges of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 in a Primary and Secondary Care Mental Health Service. Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health, 4, 237-240.

16. Yeebo, M. (2015). Ethnic differences in BDNF Val66Met polymorphism. British Journal of Psychiatry, 207(4), 363-363. doi:10.1192/bjp.207.4.363.

I work holistically, considering how your routines, relationships, and physical health interact with the difficulties you bring. Therapy is collaborative, and reviewed regularly to ensure you feel supported in your journey.I draw on a range of evidence-based modalities, tailored to your needs:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

• Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)

• Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy

• Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT)

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

• Systemic Therapy

• Person-Centred Counselling