Values

Every person brings their own history, strengths, and understanding of themselves. Effective work starts with genuine curiosity about the individual — their context, their priorities, and what matters to them. This means resisting one-size-fits-all approaches and remaining responsive to each person's needs, pace, and values throughout any professional relationship.

Neurodivergent people — including those with autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, and related profiles — deserve care, education, and research that recognises neurological difference as a natural part of human variation rather than a deficit to be fixed. Dr. Akan is committed to practice and teaching that actively affirms neurodivergent identities and adapts her approach accordingly.

Culture, language, migration, and identity shape how people understand themselves and their difficulties — and how they experience relationships. Rather than claiming cultural competence as a fixed achievement, Dr. Akan approaches every professional encounter with cultural humility: an ongoing commitment to self-reflection, openness to learning, and awareness of how power and background influence the work — including, but not limited to, culture, ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexuality.

This commitment runs through her clinical practice, her research on culturally adapted interventions, and her teaching — particularly her work on how psychological knowledge is produced, for whom, and by whom.

Disability is not merely a clinical category. A disability-affirming approach recognises that barriers are often created by environments and systems rather than by individuals, and that professional practice — whether clinical, supervisory, or academic — must be genuinely accessible and respectful of disabled people's experiences and expertise.

Good research is rigorous, transparent, and honest about its limitations. Dr. Akan is committed to methodological integrity and to asking difficult questions about whose experiences are centred in psychological research — and whose are not. Much of her research has focused specifically on populations that are underrepresented in the clinical literature.

She values participatory and lived-experience approaches to research, believing that the people most affected by a question should have a meaningful role in shaping how it is asked and answered.

Teaching is not just the transfer of knowledge — it is an invitation to think critically, ask questions, and develop a professional identity. Dr. Akan aims to create learning environments where students feel genuinely seen and supported, regardless of their background, neurodivergent profile, or prior experience. She is particularly committed to supporting students from underrepresented or marginalised communities who may face additional barriers in accessing and navigating higher education and professional training.