I received my Master’s and PhD degrees in Clinical Psychology from the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, Turkey.
My PhD dissertation, awarded the Best METU Thesis Award, focused on the risk factors and coping resources for the mental health of Syrian refugees in Turkey during pre-migration, migration and post-migration periods. During my doctorate studies, I stayed as a visiting researcher for six months at the University of Groningen.
During 2015-2016, I was based at the University of Oxford’s Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) as a post-doctoral visiting academic. In my post-doctoral research at COMPAS, I investigated the mental health issues of Turkish and Kurdish migrants from Turkey living in London with respect to the role of social capital, social identities, perceived discrimination and acculturation.
Apart from my academic studies, I worked professionally as a psychosocial officer in post-conflict and post-disaster environments and as an Operations Executive in refugee camps for Turkish Red Crescent. I carried over a number of policy- and intervention-oriented projects concerning refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in collaboration with a number of institutions and NGOs. I did many supervised internships in mental health clinics and hospitals.
I have been working in London as a psychologist. In addition, I am a Clinical Psychology Editorial Advisory Board Member of Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
My main fields of interest are mental health of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, gender-based violence, psychological trauma, coping resources, and culturally congruent psychotherapy.