Therapists

Birgül Gülen received her BA degree in Psychology from İstanbul Bilgi University in 2009 and later on became a ‘Clinical Psychologist’. She studied as a special student at Gaziantep University Department of Psychiatry’s master’s program ‘Support for Mental Health and Protection’.

Throughout her undergraduate education, she contributed voluntarily to many clubs and associations, attended national and foreign seminars and conferences. In 2007 with Yeniden Association, she conducted group studies in primary and secondary schools. Gülen completed ÇAPA Addiction Treatment Educational Program successfully and completed her internship at the Department of Addiction, Çapa. Following internship, she worked voluntarily with in- and outpatients at Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry for two years.

Gülen worked as a psychologist at one of the centers of Gaziantep Municipality under the supervision of Dr. David J. Powell. She conducted individual psychotherapy sessions and meetings with the families, psychoeducation and group therapies. In the following years, she worked as a psychologist at a private hospital in İstanbul and then provided psychosocial support for the traumatized children and teenagers in Kilis Refugee Camp within the scope of UNICEF Child Friendly Spaces Project between the years 2013-2014. Gülen contributed to the study that applied EMDR treatment to the victims of war as a therapist and field coordinator. In 2017, this study was awarded the most prestigious award of EMDR Europe, “The Francine Shapiro Award.” She took part in the adaptation process of Transdiagnostic CA-CBT Protocol, by Dr. Devon Hinton from Harvard Medical School, for Turkish sample and its application on the adolescents diagnosed with anxiety and depression. She also contributed to the first Dialectical Behavioral Therapy skills training that took place in Turkey and this study, later on, was presented on the international platforms.

Returning back to İstanbul, she worked as the chief psychologist at the Moodist Psychiatry and Neurology Hospital and then served as the clinical director at Avcılar Municipality Consultation and Follow-Up Center, which was supervised by Dr. Bob Lynn.

Besides EMDR, Birgül Gülen completed trainings on Psychodrama, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Group Therapy and Strategic Family Therapy. She completed an intensive training program and supervision on Dialectical Behavioral Therapy in Turkey by the Linehan Institute. She is also currently in her 10th year of the Gestalt Therapy Training by Prof. Dr. Hanna Nita and still continues her group studies. She works with adult and adolescent clients with a holistic approach.

Academic Publications

• Acarturk, C., Alyanak, B., Çetinkaya, M., Gülen, B., Jalal, B., Hinton, D., E., (2019) Adaptation of Trans diagnostic CBT for Turkish Adolescents: Examples from Culturally Adapted Multiplex CBT, Cognitive and Behavioral Practice,
• Acarturk, Z. C., Abuhamdeh, S., Jalal, B., Unaldı, N., Alyanak, B., Çetinkaya, M., Gülen, B., Hinton, D. (2019). Culturally adapted trans diagnostic CBT for SSRI resistant Turkish adoles-cents: A pilot study. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 89 (2), 222-227.
• Acarturk, C., Çetinkaya, M., Senay, I., Gulen, B., Aker, T.; Hinton, D., (2018). Prevalence and Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress and Depression Symptoms Among Syrian Refugees in a Refu-gee Camp The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 206(1):40–45 doi:10.1097/NMD.0000000000000693
• Acarturk, C., Konuk, E., Çetinkaya, M., Senay, I., Sijbrandij, M., Gulen, B., Cuijpers, P. (2016). The efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing for posttraumatic stress disorder and depression among Syrian refugees: results of a randomized controlled trial. Psychological Medicine.