We wanted to share this delightful interview we conducted with Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist Yaprak Yalçın Arslan with you, our valued readers. We talked with Ms. Yaprak about her professional life and the process of embarking on her career. 

• First of all, thank you for accepting our interview request. Could you tell us about yourself? 

Hello, I’m Dr. Yaprak Arslan. I am a psychiatry specialist. I studied medicine at Kocaeli University. After graduation, I completed my compulsory service as a general practitioner. I passed the TUS exam and completed my psychiatry residency at Dokuz Eylül University. After completing my residency, I performed another compulsory service. Following that, I returned to Izmir. I worked at Alsancak State Hospital for four years and at a private hospital for three years. About a year and a half ago, I decided to open my own private practice. 

• When did you first realize your interest in psychiatry? 

As far as I remember, we had 18 preferences during our time. Seventeen of my preferences were medical schools. I always had the idea of becoming a doctor in mind, but as you know, during medical school, we have internships. Especially after my psychiatry internship as an intern, I found a part of it appealing. I love communicating and talking with people. In every group, there is someone who listens and balances things out—that person was me. My interest in psychiatry began this way. In the TUS exam, most of my preferences were oriented in this direction. I was very determined during both medical school and specialization, and I pursued this decision. 

• Why did you choose to specialize in sexual therapy? 

During psychiatry residency, we do not receive therapy training as part of the program. There is a similar approach among psychologists as well. To become a therapist, we really need to receive therapy training. First, you go through a process. In some cases, you take 100 hours of theoretical and 100 hours of practical training, pass an exam, and then prepare a patient. I went through a similar process, and knowing from the beginning that I wanted to be a therapist, I decided to continue down this path. Initially, I took supportive psychotherapy training because to become a sexual therapist, you need to receive training in one of the main schools of psychotherapy. In other words, you must first become a psychotherapist. You cannot become a sexual therapist without being a psychotherapist. Honestly, it’s about the desire to improve oneself. I always thought about what more I could do, how much more help I could get, and how I could assist the patient. Sexuality is an area that we overlook, leave behind, and one where people have many questions and yet struggle to express them. During sexual therapy training, we see how much more patients can share their troubles and how sometimes there can be many underlying issues and how we can approach them. Sexual therapy is not just about treating the patient; it’s also a psychoeducational process. We provide certain home exercises or tasks that couples can do together. So, it’s a very holistic approach. You could say it’s a part of my work, and since I’m eager to continue my education, I took this training.  

• Since you started your profession, what has changed in the field and in your life, and what do you think needs to change? 

I believe that being both a doctor and a psychiatry specialist has greatly benefited me personally. It is impossible not to develop awareness during therapy training. Before you seat someone as a patient in front of you, you need to understand what it feels like to sit in that chair yourself. Before directly asking others questions, we also need to know how we feel when those questions are directed at us. Professionally, like all fields, psychiatry has also significantly advanced in both pharmacological and imaging areas. When people come to a psychiatrist, their minds are often confused. They have questions like, “Was it a psychologist? Is it someone who prescribes medication or provides therapy?” The thing is, psychiatry’s recognition and awareness are increasing daily. People’s difficulties in accessing it are decreasing. The questions like “Should I go to a psychiatrist? If I go, will they say something about me, or am I crazy?” are gradually disappearing. I think this is a significant development. Socially, it has become much easier to access psychiatrists. People are braver about seeking help. Besides, we overlook the fact that psychiatry is an organic field. When we say mental, people think we’re only talking about an unseen soul, but in fact, psychiatry is the reflection of the cells in our brain. Everything that forms our complaints, emotions, and behaviors shows how our brain functions. Just as a part of our brain can cause neurological symptoms when it is affected—like when we can’t move our hands or see—some cells can cause emotional symptoms when affected. The organic part I mentioned is precisely this. So, this is not just the invisible science of the soul. It reflects on our behavior, and people find it difficult to express themselves because we are talking about something more abstract. When we cannot move our foot or see, it doesn’t need to be expressed because it is evident from the outside, but when we say we’re sad or pessimistic, we encounter questions like “What’s wrong? Why are you sad?” This is why we should not overlook the organic aspect of it. We are talking about the same brain. When one cell is affected, it causes one thing; when another cell is affected, it causes something else. This aspect should not be overlooked. The main reason medication works is this. 

• When should people come to see you? 

We often hear questions like, “Should I go to a psychiatrist for the slightest problem or not?” People can come at any stage. They can come to seek advice, talk about their current issues, or when they cannot cope with a problem because, as I mentioned, psychiatry is not just a branch that organizes drug treatments and deals with patients and illnesses. They also have the chance to reach a conclusion by consulting where they go or receive some form of education. Being a doctor is not only about treating but also about educating. Even if a patient has anything in mind about their process, they can come. There’s nothing to restrict the patient from coming. They can come for any issue.

Source: terapidelisi.com

Uzm. Dr. Yaprak Arslan
Psikiyatrist & Psikoterapist