Psy. Elif CALISKAN SIMSEK

While studying Psychology at Hacettepe University, she also completed a minor in Sociology. During her undergraduate years, she worked actively as a volunteer instructor at the Turkish Education Volunteers Foundation for six months. She completed internships by working with child, adolescent, and adult clients at Yenimahalle State Hospital, Oncology Hospital, and Ankara University Training and Research Hospital. In addition, she completed internships as a psychologist in nursing homes and social service centers.

After graduating with High Honors from the Department of Psychology in 2016, she began her professional career. Until 2019, she worked full-time at a private college, providing psychological counseling services to adolescents aged 12–14 and their families on attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), generalized anxiety disorder, test anxiety, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

In 2019, she started the thesis-based Master’s Program in Clinical Psychology at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University. During the first six months of her graduate education, she worked part-time as a psychologist at a private kindergarten with children aged 3–6, focusing on ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, behavioral disorders, anger control problems, toilet training, and orientation training for children. In 2020, she also began the non-thesis Master’s Program in Interdisciplinary Family Counseling at Ankara University. In 2021, she graduated from both the Clinical Psychology and Interdisciplinary Family Counseling master’s programs with High Honors and earned the title of Specialist.

During her graduate education, she received training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Experiential Play Therapy, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. She later completed EMDR Therapy training for children, adolescents, and adults, as well as Child and Adolescent Schema Therapy training. She became a certified test practitioner after completing training in MMPI, WISC-IV, MOXO, CNS Vital Signs, the Specific Learning Disorder Test Battery, and child assessment tests.

Additionally, she completed the Psychodrama Preparation and Basic Stages at the Abdülkadir Özbek Psychodrama Institute and earned the title of Assistant Director (Co- Psychodramatist). She is currently in the thesis stage of the Advanced Psychodrama Training at the same institute and aims to become a certified psychodramatist. She has been actively providing face-to-face and online therapy services for a long time and organizes seminars at various institutions.

Master’s Thesis
• The Predictive Role of Childhood Traumas, Metacognitive Functions, and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies on Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Master’s Graduation Project
• Evaluation of Attachment Styles in Children and Adolescents Diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder.

Certificates and Other Trainings

• EMDR Level 2 Training for Children and Adolescents – Fide Counseling Center, Prof. Dr. Ümran Korkmazlar
• Schema Therapy Supervision for Children and Adolescents – Dr. Psychologist Deniz Aktan
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders Training – Prof. Dr. Mücahit Öztürk
• Workshop on Working with ADHD, Behavioral Disorders, and Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Children from a Schema Therapy Perspective – Dr. Marsha Blank, Dr. Gökçen Güven, Dr. Deniz Aktan
• International Certification Training in Schema Therapy for Children and Adolescents – International Society of Schema Therapy (ISST)
• Psychodrama Assistant Certificate (Assistant Psychodramatist – accredited by FEPTO), Abdülkadir Özbek Psychodrama Institut
• EMDR Therapy Level 2 Supervision – Clinical Psychologist Mustafa Çetinkaya, Psychotherapist Nalan Saban
• EMDR Therapy Level 2 Training – DBE Behavioral Sciences Institute
• EMDR Supervision for Children and Adolescents – Fide Counseling Center
• EMDR Level 1 Training and Supervision – DBE Behavioral Sciences Institute
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Clinical Psychology Master’s Program
• Solution-Focused Brief Therapy – Başkent Workshop
• Experiential Play Therapy (Module 1) – Psychology Istanbul
• Advanced Psychodrama Training (ongoing) – Abdülkadir Özbek Psychodrama Institute
• Basic and Preparation Psychodrama Trainings – Abdülkadir Özbek Psychodrama Institute
• Interview Techniques and Skills in Psychotherapy – Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University
• Pedagogical Formation Certificate – Ufuk Universit
• MOXO Attention Test
• CNS Vital Signs Test
•  MMPI Training
• WISC-IV Training – Turkish Psychological Association
• Specific Learning Disorder Test Battery and Visual-Auditory Number Sequences Test
• Objective Child Assessment Tests (various developmental, intelligence, attention, and perception tests)
• Mood Disorders Training – Istanbul Gelişim University
• Children’s Drawing Analysis and Interpretation Training – Middle East Technical University
• Psychological Health in Refugees and Asylum Seekers Symposium – Başkent University
• Behavioral Program for Increasing Functionality in Patients with Psychotic Symptoms – Başkent University
• Crisis Intervention and Psychosocial Support After Disasters – Atılım University
• Bilkent Neuroscience Days V – Bilkent University
• Communication Training – Turkish Education Volunteers Foundation
• Personal Branding, Image, and Effective Communication Training
• Effective Communication, Diction, Motivation, and Public Speaking Training
• Effective Communication, Micro Body Language, and Interview Techniques

Publications

• Examining the Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation Strategies in the Relationship Between Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms and Metacognitive Functions – UBAK International Sciences Academy / 7th International Social Sciences Congress, Oral Presentation, 2021
• Psychodrama with Children – Science and Art, Book Chapter Translation, 2021

Workshops and Programs Directed

• 4th Ankara Psychodrama Week – “The Language of Hope through Self-Compassion,” Psychodrama Workshop Facilitator
• Growing Together with Children – What I Am Curious About in My Role as a Parent, Psychodrama Group Facilitator (10-week program)
• In-Service Psychodrama Training for Teachers – Assistant Psychodrama Group Facilitator

Seminars Delivered

• Coping with Stress and Motivation Before the High School Entrance Exam – LSV Educational Institutions, 23.01.2021
• Coping with Exam Stress – Amaç Educational Institutions, 21.02.2021
• Stress and Motivation Seminar – Batı College, 27.03.2021
• Today’s Technology Age and the Role of Parents – Batıkent Yükseliş College, 12.05.2021
• The Effect of Parenting Attitudes on Children – Batıkent Yükseliş College, 06.11.2021
• A Challenge Faced by Schools: Peer Bullying – Atael College, 03.11.2022
• Emotion Regulation in Children and Parenting Attitudes – Family Counseling Center, 22.11.2022
• Anger Management Skills – İbrahim Çeçen Foundation, 10.01.2023
• Atael College Career Days, Psychology Session – 20.02.2024
• TEB Positive Impact Days – Feeling Good in Difficult Times as the Exam Period Approaches – TEB, 02.06.2025
• Exam Anxiety Seminar for Parents – SETUR, 12.06.2025