ONAT OZDEN

Hello, I am Onat Ozden, Existential Psychotherapist working with Internal Family Systems (IFS) as a core framework, drawing from Systemic and Psycho-Trauma approaches in my understanding.

Therapy is a collaborative exploration into the complex subjectivity that is ‘you’. Through an existentially-informed IFS lens, we begin to understand the mechanisms operating outside of your control, as a learned adaptation to the specific environments of childhood that once helped to protect you in some way. Rather than seeing these responses as problems to eliminate, we approach them as meaningful attempts to cope with feelings that was once too big to regulate, and situations that were once too complicated to comprehend. Thus trauma is not simply the events themselves, but what happens within us when we are struggling internally with those overwhelming experiences often carried out into our present-day relationships. IFS offers a way of naming patterns and relating to these inner dynamics from a compassionate and curious place, offering also embodied practices and somatic awareness.

Additionally Existential approach further deepens this work by inviting reflections on questions of identity, meaning, freedom, and limitations. Existentialism resists reducing our experiences into fixed categories or to unhealthy symptoms. Instead, it holds multiple tensions that allows us to be contradictory, one important tension being our uniqueness within our universally shared humanity. Thus, an existentially-informed IFS lense views dysfunctional behaviours as expressions of disconnection from oneself, others, or the world and does so for good reason.

My framework is also informed by critical feminist and queer theories in my approach to social identities and structures of power that governs us through oppression/cruelty or privilege. Deconstructing previously held beliefs and values, and reflecting on how factors such as sexuality, ethnicity, class, culture, patriarchy, heterosexism and power shape our inner worlds can be powerful. I believe therapy can be a space where these dimensions are not overlooked, but thoughtfully explored, allowing for a fuller understanding of your experience.

MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY / NSPC (New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling) - London, UK (2017 - )
Doctorate in Existential Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy by Professional Studies 

• 1st year completion: PGDip Level
• 2nd year completion: MSc, FHEQ Level 7 (150 hours of supervised counselling 

and 50 hours of personal therapy)
• 3rd year completion: MProf Level (300 hours of supervised counselling and 100 

hours of personal therapy) 

ISTANBUL BILGI UNIVERSITY - Istanbul, TURKEY (2011 - 2016) School of Social Sciences and Humanities - Department of Psychology 

2019 - Present: Counsellor/Psychotherapist (IYI PSYCHOTHERAPY SERVICES - Istanbul, TURKEY ) 

2020: Existential Supervisor (RUSAG NGO; MENTAL HEALTH FOR ALL - Izmir, TURKEY)    

2018 - 2019: Volunteer Psychotherapy Trainee ( KARTAL MUNICIPALITY UĞUR MUMCU CULTURAL CENTRE - Istanbul, TURKEY)

2018 - 2019: Assistant Psychologist (ERENKÖY HOSPITAL FOR MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES, WOMEN’S INPATIENT CLINIC - Istanbul, TURKEY)