Zakiya Renee Spencer Pollard

Zakiya Pollard is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Pennsylvania who works with adults of all ages. Much of her work focuses on serving young adults of color and young professionals. Zakiya provides therapy for a variety of mental health concerns including depression, anxiety, stress, life transitions, and substance abuse. She is specifically trained in the treatment of substance use disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Zakiya utilizes cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness, and a trauma-informed treatment called Seeking Safety. Using these strategies, she works with her clients to explore how unhelpful thoughts and feelings can lead to unhelpful behaviors and to make changes that result in reduced mental health symptoms and more functional behaviors. During sessions, Zakiya assists her clients with building skills such as enforcing boundaries and using grounding techniques and breathing exercises to manage anxiety. This approach helps clients to better handle life’s stressors and live a life more aligned with their values.

Zakiya's style of therapy is warm, flexible, and goal-oriented. When working with new clients, she works to establish a strong therapeutic relationship, develop achievable goals, and gather historical information to better understand the origin of presenting issues.

Zakiya received her master’s in professional counseling from the University of Pennsylvania. Much of her work has been in community mental health and substance use treatment centers. Outside of work, she enjoys singing, reading novels (especially by Stephen King), and spending time with her family. Zakiya offers only remote therapy.