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Milena Nikolajeva

Milena

Research Assistant

Email: m.nikolajeva@qmul.ac.uk

Profile

I completed my BSc in Psychology at Queen Mary, University of London. Previously, I worked on building recommendations surrounding equality, diversity, and inclusion within the public and private sectors at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

I have also worked for MIND in Tower Hamlets and Newham, working within a counselling team to help deliver talking therapies to service users. I have experience working with children with neurodevelopmental disorders, including ADHD and autism spectrum disorders.

Before my current role, I worked in the NHS, in an adult acute inpatient mental health facility as an assistant psychologist, where I delivered therapeutic stabilisation sessions informed by the Power

Threat Meaning Framework to inpatients. I also worked in a community outpatient physical health setting, assisting with the triaging of patients from multiple East London boroughs.

My previous research experience includes exploring how emotion recognition and associated cognitive biases are affected by trauma in forced migrants, and how these changes correspond with changes in well-being and mental health constructs. Additionally, I worked on a project exploring the role of non-verbal communication when delivering learning content asynchronous content, through a pedagogical and psycholinguistic lens.

Currently, I work as a research assistant at the Youth Resilience Unit on the DEER study. This is a Barts Charity-funded longitudinal cohort study, seeking to understanding emotional resilience in young children aged 7 to 10 in East London, and how they use personal, social, and community resources to overcome mental distress. I also assist with other research occurring within the unit. 

Research

Research Interests:

I am interested in researching the aetiology of addictive behaviours in children and adolescents, as well as the lifelong impact and comorbidities associated with such behaviours. I am also interested in exploring the links between neurodivergence and resilience in young people.

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