Hello and welcome to my website, ‘hoş geldiniz’ as we say in Turkish. If you are reading this information you are probably a foreigner and searching for a therapist who can speak English. This page is prepared for your needs and it contains a brief summary of the Turkish context of my website. You can have a look at my linked account to learn about my education and career path in English, but here is a short background for you.
I am a clinical and developmental psychologist living in İzmir, Turkey. I'm a graduate of İzmir American Collegiate Institute. I completed my bachelor’s degree on psychology at Ege University in 1991, followed by a master’s degree on clinical psychology in 1997.
Although I have carried various titles throughout my career since 1991, I have always identified myself as a practitioner in the field of psychology. I worked as a psychologist in a special needs school during the first years of my career path. Later, I worked as a school counselor at private and public schools, including six years of experience at an international school where I gained experience working with students and families from different cultures. I currently continue my practice as a free lance therapist. As of November 2023, I have conducted 3600 sessions of professional therapy, the first 250 supervised by internationally accredited supervisors. As a supervisor, I have offered 450 hours of individual and 480 hours of group supervision.
At the 17th year of my career, having quite an experience with individual therapy, I started questioning whether working with the 'individual' was sufficient to reach the desired change. I felt a need to include the other related members in the interactional circle of my clients in therapy for a better outcome. With this urge, I moved into the field of couple and family therapy and completed my doctorate degree at the Hiebert Institute (Illinois, USA) in 2013, in a joint program with the Graduate Theological Foundation. As a follow up, I felt a need to know more about different life stages of individuals and families, which led me to complete a second doctorate degree on developmental psychology at Ege University in 2022.
I served as a lecturer, supervisor and coordinator of a couple and family therapy education program at Yaşar University between 2012 and 2015. I co-authored two books (in Turkish) on couple therapy, one of which is a manual for therapists. I offered in-service trainings for teachers and counselors working in public and private schools. As of 2019, I serve as an affiliate mental health professional for CIC, a UK based company focusing on global wellbeing and mental health solutions. Currently I am a part time lecturer at the Psychology Department of Yaşar University and a part time supervisor at the clinical psychology master’s degree program of Bilgi University.
I am a board member of International Family Therapy Association (IFTA), a founder member of Couple and Family Therapy Association in Turkey (ÇATED), a consultant member of Aegean Sustainable Environment Association in İzmir and a member of Turkish Psychologists Association.
I am a spouse since 1995 and a mother of a young man since 1999. In my personal life I enjoy family time, outdoors, nature, handcrafts, and photography.
In my clinic I work with a team of psychologisttherapists, most of whom were my former students at Ege and Yaşar University. The therapists first attend the internship program of our clinic which I have been running since June 2022. The interns first complete a theory based training, offer volunteer therapy sessions and receieve supervisions to enhance their therapy skills. After a round of sessions and supervisions they join our team of ‘graduate therapists’ and begin to offer therapy to our clients as well as offering peer supervision for new interns. Almost all of our therapists are pursuing their master’s degree studies in addition to their therapy sessions.
In our clinic, my team and I conduct individual, couple and family therapy sessions in Turkish and English. Additionally, my colleagues offer psychological assessments for children in English as well as conducting play therapy. Our face-to-face services are offered in our clinic in Balçova, İzmir. We also offer on-line sessions. My main areas of work with my foreign clients are:
- Individual Therapy: Transition and adaptation, life stage changes, depression, anxiety, trauma, loss.
- Couple Therapy: Multicultural relationships, communication, conflict resolution, affairs, sex, divorce, and parenting.
- Family Therapy: Issues related to the developmental stages of children such as transition and adaptation, stress, anxiety, conflict resolution, social relationships, parental attitudes, dysfunctional family interactions
For appointments you can call or send a WhatsApp message at +90 532 4527411 or email us at klinikozgealkanat@gmail.com
Due to our tight schedule we kindly request to be contacted about ten days prior to the requested appointment date.
Balçova Office: Mithatpaşa Cad. No: 257/10 Balçova- İzmir