About

Uzm. Klinik Psikolog Fatma Bakır has more than ten years of clinical, academic, research and applied experience in psychology. She works with children, adolescents, young adults and families, structuring psychotherapy and psychological assessment processes on the basis of evidence-based approaches, developmental characteristics and individual needs.

In her work, she adopts a holistic approach that considers the client not only through the symptoms they present, but together with their emotional world, thought patterns, developmental characteristics, family relationships and the environment they live in.

Academic Background and Expertise

Fatma Bakır completed her undergraduate degree in the Department of Psychology at Istanbul Commerce University. At the same university, she completed a master's degree in Family Counselling and Education on an academic merit scholarship, and completed a second master's degree with high honours in the Clinical Psychology Programme at Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf University.

Bringing together her training in clinical psychology and family counselling, she evaluates the difficulties experienced particularly by children and adolescents not only in terms of their individual characteristics, but also within the context of the family system and social environment.

Her academic work has focused particularly on child mental health, trauma, forced migration and intergenerational transmission. She has taken part in international research examining the psychological effects of war and forced migration on children, adolescents and parents, and has presented her work at national and international scientific conferences.

As part of her academic work, she served as a visiting researcher at the Department of Psychology of Kingston University London and at Koç University.

Psychotherapy Training

Clinical Psychologist Fatma Bakır completed her core specialist training in psychotherapy in the four-year Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy Programme for Adults led by Prof. Dr. Mehmet Zihni Sungur. Having successfully completed the theoretical training and clinical supervision process, she earned the title of Europe-Accredited Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist (EABCT).

She received her theoretical training in cognitive behavioural therapy work with children and adolescents from Prof. Dr. Serap Özer, and her clinical supervision from Prof. Dr. Vahdet Görmez. She further developed her clinical perspective in child and adolescent mental health through the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Case Analysis and Supervision Programme led by Prof. Dr. Mücahit Öztürk.

She deepened her work in trauma through Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Children and Adolescents training with Dr. David Trickey. She completed her EMDR training with Dr. Emre Konuk and Asena Yurtsever, and her training in EMDR applications with children and adolescents with Prof. Dr. Ümran Korkmazlar. She has also received Trauma and Expressive Arts Therapy training from internationally recognised trauma expert Dr. Cathy Malchiodi.

In the field of play therapy, she has taken part in training in Child-Centred Play Therapy, Filial Therapy, Developmental Touch Therapy, Play Therapy for Children with ADHD, and Expressive Arts Therapies, and carried out her clinical supervision in this area with Reyhana Seedat. She combines play-, art- and development-based methods with cognitive behavioural interventions according to the child's age, needs and reason for referral.

For the assessment of children's cognitive, developmental, attention and social communication skills, she has completed training in WISC-IV, ADOS-2, the Specific Learning Disorder Clinical Observation Battery, the MOXO Attention Test, CNS Vital Signs and Denver II. She received her ADOS-2 practitioner training from Prof. Dr. Onur Burak Dursun. She has supported her work on social communication and social skills with training in UCLA PEERS®, SOBECE and Theory of Mind.

In her work, she approaches each child and family according to their own developmental characteristics, strengths and needs, integrating evidence-based psychotherapy approaches with play, developmental assessment and parent collaboration. She plans the therapy process not only to reduce symptoms, but to help the child get to know themselves better, regulate their emotions, strengthen their social relationships, and carry the skills they gain into their daily life.

Actively continuing her professional development and scientific work, Fatma Bakır is a member of the Association for Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies (KDTD), the EMDR Association, and the Turkish Psychological Association.

Professional Training & Accreditations