Psychology

Psychology is a scientific discipline that examines human behavior, mental processes, and emotional states through scientific methods, offering comprehensive assessment and intervention services aimed at protecting and improving the mental health of individuals. Incorporating many sub-disciplines such as clinical psychology, health psychology, neuropsychology, and developmental psychology, this field plays a critical role in enhancing the quality of life for individuals. The Koru Hospital Department of Psychology provides comprehensive psychological support services for individuals' emotional, cognitive, and behavioral issues through its expert clinical psychologists.

Scope of Clinical Psychology

Clinical psychology is one of the broadest fields of application in psychology, concerned with the assessment of mental health issues, contributing to the diagnostic process, and the implementation of psychological intervention methods. Clinical psychologists comprehensively evaluate individuals' psychological states using psychometric tests, clinical interview techniques, and observation methods. Unlike psychiatrists, while they do not have the authority to prescribe medication, they constitute the professional group that receives the most intensive training in psychotherapy practices.

Clinical psychology services cover various challenges that individuals may encounter throughout their lives. Assessment and treatment services are offered across a wide spectrum, ranging from childhood behavioral problems to the psychosocial issues of adolescence, and from relationship problems in adulthood to adaptation difficulties in old age. Clinical psychologists can work in hospitals, community mental health centers, schools, and private clinics.

Psychological Assessment and Tests

Psychological assessment is one of the core competencies of clinical psychology and involves the systematic examination of an individual's cognitive capacity, personality traits, emotional state, and behavioral patterns. Standardized tests, projective techniques, and structured clinical interviews are the primary tools of psychological assessment.

• Intelligence tests: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), and Stanford-Binet intelligence test are used in the assessment of cognitive capacity.
• Personality tests: MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory), Rorschach Inkblot Test, and TAT (Thematic Apperception Test) are the primary tools used in the assessment of personality structure.
• Neuropsychological tests: Comprehensive neuropsychological test batteries are administered to assess attention, memory, executive functions, language, and visuospatial skills.
• Developmental assessment: Denver Developmental Screening Test, Bayley Scales of Infant Development, and Ankara Developmental Screening Inventory are used in developmental assessment in children.
• Clinical scales: Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Quality of Life Scales are used for the quantitative assessment of clinical status.

Psychotherapy Methods

Psychotherapy is a treatment method systematically applied by a trained mental health professional, aiming to achieve change by addressing an individual's emotional problems, thought patterns, and behavioral patterns. Various psychotherapy approaches based on different theoretical frameworks exist, and each approach demonstrates efficacy in different psychological issues.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a structured and goal-oriented psychotherapy approach based on the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The fundamental assumption of CBT is that the emotional distress individuals experience stems not from the events themselves, but from the meanings they attribute to those events. In therapy, dysfunctional automatic thoughts and core beliefs are identified, and the goal is to replace them with more realistic and adaptive thoughts.

CBT is the psychotherapy method with the highest level of evidence for many psychiatric conditions, primarily depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, and sleep disorders. It typically involves a structured treatment process lasting between 12 and 20 sessions. Homework assignments, behavioral experiments, and cognitive restructuring techniques are the primary intervention tools of CBT.

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a psychotherapy approach originating from Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory, addressing an individual's unconscious processes, early life experiences, and internal conflicts. In this approach, it is assumed that a person's current problems are linked to unconscious motivations, defense mechanisms, and early object relations.

Short-term psychodynamic therapy is a form of treatment structured around a specific focus problem, usually lasting between 16 and 30 sessions. Long-term psychodynamic therapy, on the other hand, aims for more deep-rooted personality change and is applied over a process spanning years. Transference, resistance, free association, and interpretation are the fundamental concepts and techniques of psychodynamic therapy. It offers an effective approach, especially for individuals with chronic relationship problems, personality disorders, and repetitive life patterns.

Schema Therapy

Schema therapy is an integrative psychotherapy model developed by Jeffrey Young that incorporates elements of cognitive behavioral therapy, psychodynamic approach, attachment theory, and gestalt therapy. Schema therapy focuses on the identification and transformation of early maladaptive schemas. Early maladaptive schemas are deep-seated belief patterns formed as a result of unmet basic emotional needs in childhood, which persist throughout life and negatively affect a person's relationships, emotional state, and behavior.

Abandonment, mistrust, emotional deprivation, defectiveness, social isolation, dependence, failure, subjugation, and unrelenting standards are among the most frequently encountered early maladaptive schemas. In schema therapy, cognitive, experiential, behavioral, and relational techniques are used together. It has been proven effective, especially in personality disorders, chronic depression, and repetitive relationship problems.

EMDR Therapy

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a structured psychotherapy method developed by Francine Shapiro that aims to process traumatic experiences. The fundamental assumption of EMDR is that traumatic memories become stuck in the brain's information processing systems and therefore cannot be processed appropriately. Through bilateral stimulation techniques, these memories are reprocessed and stored in an adaptive manner.

EMDR is recommended by the World Health Organization as one of the first-line treatment methods for post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, it has been shown to be effective in various conditions such as phobias, anxiety disorders, grief processes, and performance anxiety. It offers a structured treatment process with its eight-phase standard protocol.

Child and Adolescent Psychology

Child and adolescent psychology deals with the assessment and treatment of developmental processes and the problems that arise during these processes. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, separation anxiety, school phobia, and enuresis are among the frequently encountered psychological problems of childhood.

In psychotherapy practices with children, techniques appropriate to their age and developmental level are used. Play therapy provides a safe environment for children to reflect their emotional expressions and inner worlds. Creative therapeutic approaches such as art therapy, music therapy, and sand tray therapy are also frequently preferred in working with children. In working with adolescents, periodic issues such as identity development, peer relationships, academic stress, and digital addiction are addressed.

Parental counseling and family therapy are an inseparable component of child and adolescent psychology. Parents understanding their children's developmental needs, developing effective communication skills, and adopting consistent boundary-setting approaches directly affect the success of the treatment process.

Neuropsychological Assessment

Neuropsychological assessment is a comprehensive evaluation process that involves the systematic examination of brain functions at the behavioral level. Detailed assessment of cognitive domains such as attention, concentration, memory, learning, language, visuospatial skills, executive functions, and psychomotor speed is performed using neuropsychological test batteries.

Neuropsychological assessment plays a critical role in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of dementia, determining the cognitive profile after brain injury, lateralization assessment before epilepsy surgery, diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and identifying learning disabilities. Neuropsychological tests are among the most sensitive tools in distinguishing early-stage dementia from age-related normal cognitive decline.

Stress Management and Psychological Resilience

Stress is an inevitable part of modern life and directly affects individuals' physical and mental health. Chronic stress paves the way for mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and burnout syndrome, as well as physical health problems such as cardiovascular diseases, immune system disorders, gastrointestinal issues, and sleep disorders.

Stress management programs are structured to help individuals recognize their sources of stress, develop coping strategies, and increase their psychological resilience. Relaxation techniques, mindfulness meditation, time management skills, strengthening social support networks, and cognitive restructuring are the fundamental components of stress management. Psychological resilience refers to the capacity to adapt and recover when faced with challenging life events and is considered a trait that can be developed through therapeutic interventions.

Couples and Family Therapy

Couples therapy is a form of psychotherapy applied to address relationship problems and improve communication between partners. Communication problems, loss of trust, sexual incompatibility, the process following infidelity, disagreements regarding parenting, and the divorce process are among the most frequent reasons for seeking couples therapy. Emotionally focused couples therapy (EFT) and Gottman couples therapy are evidence-based couples therapy approaches.

Family therapy is a treatment method that addresses relationship dynamics and communication patterns within the family system. Structural family therapy, strategic family therapy, and multigenerational family therapy are the main schools of family therapy. Intra-family conflicts, intergenerational communication problems, adolescent behavioral problems, and the effects of chronic illnesses on the family are frequently addressed topics in family therapy.

Health Psychology

Health psychology is a field that examines the effects of psychological factors on physical health and provides support to individuals in the process of coping with chronic illnesses. Conditions such as cancer, diabetes, heart diseases, chronic pain, and autoimmune diseases also negatively affect the mental health of patients. Health psychologists play an important role in the adaptation process to the illness, increasing adherence to treatment, and maintaining quality of life.

In the Koru Hospital Department of Psychology, our specialist physicians and clinical psychologists offer comprehensive psychological assessment and psychotherapy services to individuals of all age groups, from children to adults. With scientifically evidence-based treatment methods and individualized therapy plans, the goal is to protect and improve the mental well-being of individuals.