Psychotherapy Practices

Mindfulness is a method of directing attention rooted in the Eastern meditation tradition. In recent years, it has become widely used in the Western world, particularly in the field of psychology. Mindfulness can be defined as focusing one’s attention on events or stimuli occurring in the present moment in a non-judgmental and accepting manner. Mindfulness allows us to be fully present and awake in life. It allows our thoughts and emotions to arise without judgment or reaction. By shifting our focus away from the thoughts that have taken center stage in our lives, it helps us alleviate our emotional and physical difficulties. Mindfulness is currently the most widely used and extensively researched therapeutic method among many different therapeutic approaches in the field of psychology. It can be applied in individual sessions as well as in group therapy settings. The most common form of group therapy is “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Group Therapy.” It is an 8-week program and has been proven effective in reducing daily stress, intrusive thoughts, and emotions. At our institution, this group therapy is conducted by expert psychotherapists.

Mindfulness-based group therapy was initially developed as a method for stress reduction and the treatment of pain disorders. However, over time, both individual and group programs have been developed not only for these areas but also for other psychological conditions. The most recent of these is the Mindfulness-Based group therapy program developed for children and adolescents diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and their families. Like other group therapies, this program lasts 8 weeks. The goal of this program is to help child and adolescent clients struggling with attention deficit and hyperactivity improve their attention skills, reduce self-critical thoughts, and enhance their emotional and behavioral control. The program is not only designed for child and adolescent clients but also takes into account the challenges faced by families; its primary goals are to reduce parents’ stress levels and increase their awareness of their attitudes toward their children. At our institution, this group therapy is conducted by expert psychotherapists.

Today, the importance of psychotherapy in treating mental health disorders is widely recognized. Impaired functioning in a person’s work, social, and personal life are among the reasons that lead individuals to seek therapy. Cognitive and behavioral therapies are evidence-based, short-term, problem-focused therapeutic approaches that address the difficulties and problems a person is experiencing, with a focus on the “here and now.”

Behaviors are observable and measurable actions. Behavioral therapy involves the systematic application of learning theories to analyze and treat behavioral problems. It is a therapeutic approach that uses learning principles to bring about observable and measurable changes in a person’s behavior.

Thoughts play a significant role in the formation of the negative emotions a person experiences. These thoughts arise very quickly and automatically; as a result, most are vague, unformed, and pop into the person’s mind involuntarily. The individual fully believes these thoughts, and it is very difficult to prevent them from arising. Mental health issues arise from the consequences of an individual’s deep-seated core beliefs and thoughts being triggered by a life event. Cognitive therapy aims to modify the cognitive structures that cause these issues to emerge and persist, making them more functional and appropriate.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is currently recognized as the most effective therapeutic approach for psychopathologies such as depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, phobias, and behavioral problems.

Hypnotherapy is therapy conducted through hypnosis. In other words, it is treatment administered via hypnosis. In the medical world, hypnotherapy is recognized as a form of psychotherapy. All of us—including those who say, “I don’t believe in hypnosis”—experience countless hypnotic experiences as a natural part of our lives. Therefore, when hypnosis—as a natural part of our lives—is re-experienced in a hypnotherapy setting with the help of a hypnotherapist, this familiarity becomes easier to understand.
A conscious mind is more critical and tends to analyze more when solving problems. It may put up resistance. This can lead to indecision and difficulty taking action. However, while under hypnosis, the unconscious mind—freed from the conscious mind’s analytical capacity—becomes more receptive to suggestions, and therapy takes place.
AREAS
OF
APPLICATION FOR
HYPNOTHERAPY • Mood disorders (depression, bipolar disorder),
• Anxiety disorders (uncontrollable anxiety, fear, panic, tension, distress),
• Somatoform (body-related) disorders,
• Eating disorders,
• Obesity,
• Sleep disorders,
• Sexual disorders,
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD),
• Psychosis (provided the patient is in remission),
• Tics,
• Stuttering,
• Bedwetting,
• Addictions (smoking, alcohol, substance abuse, gambling, internet, etc.),
• Phobias (various excessive fears),
• Traumas,
• Performance anxiety (test anxiety, stage fright),
• Performance enhancement in sports,
• Performance enhancement in education (reluctance to study, inability to sustain attention, getting bored easily, memory, learning, recall),
In personal development:
• Lack of self-confidence, low self-esteem,
• Excessive anxiety and fear in social settings,
• Inability to speak in public,
• Inability to make eye contact, thoughts that “everyone is looking at me,
” • Problems in relationships with the opposite sex,
• Inability to control oneself, overreacting,
• Inability to express emotions and thoughts,
• Trembling, sweating, stuttering, blushing

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy technique discovered in 1987 by American psychologist Francine Shapiro. During the technique, bilateral stimulation (of the right and left sides of the brain) is provided through eye movements, sounds, or gentle physical touches. During this stimulation, the client focuses on past memories, current events that trigger those memories, and positive experiences he wishes to have in the future. Eye movements significantly reduce the negative effects of traumatic experiences through desensitization.

The information processing phase ensures that the traumatic memory is stored in the mind in a coherent manner. Throughout this process, the client may gain insight, experience changes in his memories, or form new connections.

AREAS OF APPLICATION

Acute trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) Phobias, Panic Disorder
Individuals
working under intense stress Individuals
experiencing intense grief and mourning due to the loss of a loved one Symptoms
developing in children and adolescents as a result of trauma they have experienced Victims
of sexual assault Victims
of natural disasters or man-made catastrophes For individuals
who have been involved in accidents, undergone surgery, or suffered burns, and who experience emotional and physical distress as a result; For
individuals experiencing family, marital, or sexual problems; To reduce
the risk of relapse in cases of addiction; To improve the performance of individuals experiencing performance anxiety or feeling inadequate at school, work, or in the arts and sports.

Psychodynamic psychotherapies are one of the therapeutic schools used to understand the human psyche. In short, in psychodynamic therapies, the processes that create distress, anxiety, fear, and unhappiness in a person’s life—as well as the emotions, thoughts, and behaviors that create conflict in his relationships with others—are deeply re-examined and brought to awareness together with the therapist within the context of the person’s unique historical development. Through the reinterpretation of these recognized processes within the therapeutic relationship—along with the resulting growth in insight—the goal is to enable the individual to transform the conflicts that cause him distress into functional and healthy forms, thereby allowing him to integrate his own desires and aspirations into his life in an appropriate manner.
 Psychodynamic therapies work with psychoanalytic concepts such as the individual’s childhood experiences and development, the unconscious determinants underlying behaviors and emotions, transference, defenses, object relations, the individual’s resistance to therapeutic work, dreams, and repetitive life experiences. Although psychodynamic therapies use concepts similar to those in psychoanalytic therapies, sessions are conducted face-to-face rather than on a couch as in psychoanalytic therapy. While the frequency and duration of sessions are determined in consultation with the client, sessions typically occur once a week; regression is not permitted to the same extent as in psychoanalytic therapies, and the therapist employs more active interpretation within the “here and now” principle. 

Motivational interviewing is a technique aimed at facilitating change. Change is a difficult process for all of us. Sometimes we strive to make a change, and other times we strive to maintain it. The situations in which we struggle the most in life are usually those in which we are in the process of change. Motivational interviewing aims to support, facilitate, and sustain change.

Motivation is the fuel of change. The higher the quality, efficiency, and sustainability of our sources of motivation, the greater our likelihood of reaching our goals. Through motivational interviewing, we work on the motivations that form the foundation of change to help individuals achieve their change goals. It is typically applied in areas where we must choose between immediate gratification and long-term benefits. An example of this is when an individual aiming to lose weight by changing his eating habits (long-term benefit) chooses to avoid eating sweets (immediate gratification).

Speech and language therapy involves interventions related to the management and treatment of voice, language, speech, and swallowing disorders in children and adults. The intervention program is carried out by specialists in the field. Speech and language therapy programs can be developed to address language issues and language skill activities in cases such as delayed speech and language development, aphasia, and brain injury. Articulation/phonetic therapy programs can be developed to address the inability to produce certain sounds and to correct the production and acquisition of speech sounds. Intervention programs can be implemented to address fluency disorders such as rapid speech and stuttering. Therapy programs can be developed to address various voice disorders, including those caused by conditions such as polyps and nodules that lead to hoarseness. Additionally, this scope includes the implementation of therapy programs for conditions involving feeding difficulties and swallowing disorders.

Conditions requiring speech-language therapy include, in brief: articulation disorders—that is, the inability to produce certain sounds or producing them incorrectly—voice problems such as hoarseness or a cracked voice while speaking, delayed speech (for example, a child who has not started speaking by age three or who speaks using only very short sentences), stuttering and rapid speech disorder, language and speech disorders caused by traumatic brain injuries such as stroke or accidents—including aphasia and dysarthria—swallowing and deglutition problems, language and speech disorders stemming from conditions such as Down syndrome and autism, language and speech problems associated with anomalies like cleft lip and palate, and language and speech disorders resulting from hearing impairment. Therapy involves the detailed diagnosis of these conditions, the development of an intervention plan, and its effective implementation.

Existential therapy is a therapeutic school that originated in Europe in the years following World War II and spread to the United States alongside waves of forced migration. It refers to a therapeutic school developed under the influence of Martin Heidegger’s existential philosophy. Ludwig Binswanger, Viktor E. Frankl, Rollo May, Otto Rank, and Irvin Yalom are the leading pioneers of existential psychotherapy.
It
is possible to find commonalities between existentialism and Eastern philosophies. Humans are the only living beings who know they were born and will one day die, and this reality causes them anxiety about whether they are living a meaningful life. Existential therapy prioritizes the perception and experience of the “self.” The fundamental issue addressed by existential therapy is the individual’s ability to perceive his own “self” and to grasp the meaning of existence through the way he lives out his responsibility for his own existence.
One of the fundamental problems of modern humanity is alienation.
The number of people experiencing disconnection, lack of relationships, alienation, and emotional deprivation is steadily increasing. The moments when we can truly recognize our “self” and feel free are quite rare.

The existential psychotherapist strives to understand the client within the context of his own world. In existential therapy, understanding comes before technique. While traditional approaches emphasize specific things the therapist “must do,” existential therapy focuses on the content of the process, on understanding and living the person’s existence. What matters is being fully aware of “what” we are experiencing. When we are fully aware of what we are experiencing, “meaning” emerges naturally, and unwanted emotions become manageable.

Schema Therapy is an approach focused on understanding—and, of course, changing—the reflections of early-life experiences in adulthood. While it is particularly well-suited for addressing difficult personality traits and the effects of major life events, it is also used to address other psychological challenges. Schema Therapy is effectively used in various settings, including child, adolescent, individual, group, and couples therapy.

In Schema Therapy, while the distressing thoughts brought by the individual are addressed, the primary focus is on distressing emotions, because it is evident that distressing patterns (“Does this always happen to me?!”) persist due to problematic emotional experiences from the past. The goal is to help individuals understand that the emotional and behavioral patterns they struggle to change are the result of dysfunctional conditions experienced during childhood or adolescence. During the therapeutic process, we work to restructure perspectives that make life difficult by replacing them with more realistic ones; we also engage in emotion-focused (reframing negative emotions), and to replace the negative behavioral patterns driven by these negative perspectives and emotions with more adaptive ones—in other words, to bring order to a life that has become a tangled mess and prevent the recurrence of distressing thoughts. 

Individual therapy plays a crucial role in addiction treatment. The primary goal of addiction therapy is to help the individual gain insight into his addiction and develop an awareness of the harm it causes. During therapy, the factors driving the individual toward substance use must be identified, and the patient must be helped to avoid specific people, situations, places, or triggers. The individual is helped to rebuild his life. He must be guided to recognize and become aware of his cravings, and to learn and develop ways to cope with them.

In addiction treatment, individual psychotherapy is essential and highly effective for helping the individual gain insight into the psychological factors that lead to relapse and learn to cope with potentially risky situations. To prevent intense emotional states that drive the individual toward substance use, problematic thought patterns and behavioral patterns must be identified and assessed, and more functional responses to replace them must be determined in collaboration with the patient. The focus should be on developing the individual’s stress management and problem-solving skills. Recognizing and managing emotions is also crucial for preventing relapses. Therefore, sessions should also address emotion regulation.

In addiction treatment, fostering motivation is essential for sustained recovery. For this reason, in individual therapy sessions, the therapist and patient work collaboratively to activate the patient’s existing resources, with the goal of enabling the individual to enjoy life without resorting to alcohol or substances. Sessions focus on building a new life outside the realm of alcohol and substance use, taking up new hobbies, and living a more planned and structured life. 

Sex therapy is a treatment approach—utilizing various techniques—provided by psychologists and psychiatrists specially trained in this field to resolve issues faced by individuals and couples experiencing problems in their sexual lives. Problems in the sexual sphere can significantly reduce an individual’s quality of life and have a major impact on mental health. On the other hand, sexual problems may also arise as a result of other existing difficulties. Physical factors—such as cardiovascular diseases, hormonal imbalances, and genetic disorders—as well as psychological factors—including lack of education, prejudices, substance use, depression, and relationship conflicts—can all contribute to problems in one’s sex life. For this reason, it is important to approach these issues from a multidisciplinary perspective. Once the cause of the problem is identified, support is sought from relevant specialties as needed, while therapy sessions are conducted to resolve the issue. In individual and couples sessions, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques are primarily used, along with supportive techniques such as biofeedback.

- Premature Ejaculation
- Anorgasmia (inability to reach orgasm)
- Erectile Dysfunction (erection problems)
- Dyspareunia (painful sexual intercourse)
- Vaginismus
- Arousal Disorders
- Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder These are the most common sexual problems.

Group therapy is a process involving 8–12 members, utilizing a variety of techniques but always grounded in the “here and now,” where participants experience a range of emotions and embark on an inner journey with the group. There are many types of group therapy: Interaction Groups, which address a wide range of emotions, thoughts, and experiences based on the “here and now” principle; Art Psychotherapies, which utilize the power of art to facilitate access to our inner world (painting, literature, music, film, poetry…); and groups for Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), Anxiety Disorders, Panic Disorders, Agoraphobia, and Social Phobia; communication groups aimed at improving social skills; and groups where individuals with traumatic experiences and pain share their suffering—as well as support and education groups for the families of all these participants. In these groups, members can participate in either common-complaint groups or mixed groups (where complaints vary), depending on what the group therapist and the patient’s psychiatrist determine to be most appropriate for the patient. These group therapy sessions held at the outpatient clinic take place once a week at the same time. Additionally, group therapy sessions are held three days a week at our clinics that serve inpatients.

The fundamental characteristic that distinguishes group therapy from individual therapy is the presence of a group of people together; within this group, which represents society, the individual—as a “social being”—has the opportunity to observe and become aware of aspects of himself he might not otherwise recognize, and to develop his communication skills in a safer environment. In this sense, Group Therapy is not only beneficial for individuals who have received a psychiatric diagnosis and are undergoing treatment, but also for those who wish to discover themselves, embark on an inner journey, and get to know themselves alongside fellow travelers.

Group therapy is a process involving 8–12 members, utilizing a variety of techniques but always grounded in the “here and now,” where participants experience a range of emotions and embark on an inner journey together as a group. There are many types of group therapy: Interaction Groups, which address a wide range of emotions, thoughts, and experiences based on the “here and now” principle; Art Psychotherapies, which utilize the power of art to facilitate access to our inner world (painting, literature, music, film, poetry…); and groups for Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), Anxiety Disorders, Panic Disorders, Agoraphobia, and Social Phobia; communication groups aimed at improving social skills; and groups where individuals with traumatic experiences and pain can share their struggles. In addition to these, support and education groups for the families of participants are also offered. In these groups, members can participate in either common-complaint groups or mixed groups (where complaints vary), depending on what the group therapist and the patient’s psychiatrist determine to be most appropriate for the patient. These group therapy sessions held at the outpatient clinic take place once a week at the same time. Additionally, group therapy sessions are held three days a week at our clinics serving inpatients.

The fundamental characteristic that distinguishes group therapy from individual therapy is the presence of a group of people together; within this group, which represents society, the individual—as a “social being”—has the opportunity to observe and become aware of aspects of himself he might not otherwise recognize, and to develop his communication skills in a safer environment. In this sense, Group Therapy is not only beneficial for individuals who have received a psychiatric diagnosis and are undergoing treatment, but also for those seeking self-discovery, an inner journey, and the opportunity to get to know themselves alongside fellow travelers.

Freud defined psychoanalysis under three main headings: a method used to understand human psychological processes, a therapeutic technique based on this method, and a discipline used to evaluate the data revealed by this method. As this definition makes clear, psychoanalysis is a system that aims not only to treat the individual but also to understand him.
In the psychoanalytic process, the individual is guided to recall experiences or memories that have been repressed into the unconscious and to reexamine the connections between these and his inner world.
During this process, the individual (the analysand) is expected to express everything that comes to mind without censorship and without filtering it through judgment or logic—just as it comes to mind. This is called “free association.” In addition, the individual is asked to describe all internal processes, such as dreams and fantasies, to the psychoanalyst. At the same time, the individual (the analysand) begins to become aware of the defense mechanisms he has created to keep his experiences or memories in the unconscious. With this increased awareness, the issue that brought the person to psychoanalysis becomes clearer and is ready to be resolved.

When Should One
Seek Psychoanalysis?
An individual may seek psychoanalysis when he is struggling in life, experiencing recurring problems in his relationships, or when symptoms are negatively affecting his life—or when he wishes to understand and make sense of his own psyche.
What
Kind of Technique Is Psychoanalysis?

Psychoanalysis sessions consist of 45-minute sessions held 3 to 5 times a week, with the analysand lying on the couch and the psychoanalyst positioned out of the analysand’s line of sight. This frequency of sessions is not related to the analysand being very ill or his condition being particularly severe. The nature of psychoanalysis requires working with the psychoanalyst at this intensity in order to become aware of the interrelationships among all unconscious and psychological processes.

Who Practices Psychoanalysis?

To practice psychoanalysis, a mental health professional must have completed his own individual psychoanalysis and the necessary psychoanalytic training (psychoanalytic training) required to become a psychoanalyst.

Supportive psychotherapy is a form of psychotherapy that requires a psychiatric diagnostic evaluation and involves therapeutic interventions that are planned and specifically tailored to the client. Supportive psychotherapy is based on psychodynamic principles. However, the psychotherapist who uses this approach applies it with a holistic approach, taking the client’s needs into account.

The goals of supportive psychotherapy are to alleviate existing symptoms, reduce the risk of recurrence of the problem, and promote coping; to enhance ego functions and adaptive skills; and to support the individual in coping with current problems.

Supportive psychotherapy is currently the most widely used form of psychotherapy for conditions such as depression, phobias, anxiety disorders, psychosomatic disorders, suicidal ideation, the grieving process, marital problems, schizophrenia, substance abuse, and personality disorders. It is also utilized during periods when medical conditions arise.

In short, supportive psychotherapy is aimed at strengthening the client’s ability to cope with stressors. It helps clients become aware of their psychological needs and ensures that these needs are met.