Advisory Board Members | TED Üniversitesi

TED University Psychological Counseling and Guidance Program's Advisory Board Members

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Dr. Begüm Serim-Yıldız

TED University Department of Educational Sciences Guidance and Psychological Counseling

Head of Department

Dr. Begüm Serim-Yıldız completed her master's degree in 2010 and her doctoral degree in 2018 at the Department of Educational Sciences, Guidance and Psychological Counseling Division of Middle East Technical University. She has conducted studies on the relationship between the fears of children and adolescents with age, gender, and socioeconomic level, as well as the acquisition of fear, its cultural dimension, and temporal changes. Additionally, she has written book chapters on working with children and adolescents after disasters. She has served as the editor of books on Counseling Techniques and Applications with Children and Adolescents. Currently, she is conducting research on disaster psychology, counseling with children and adolescents, professional ethics in counseling, and ethics education. Dr. Serim-Yıldız's research interests include the psychosocial development of children and adolescents, emotion regulation skills, working with children and adolescents after disasters, the effectiveness of play therapy and bibliotherapy on the behavioral and emotional problems of children and adolescents.

Prof. Dr. Nilüfer Voltan Acar

Honory President of Turkih GPC Association

TED University Department of Educational Sciences Guidance and Psychological Counseling

Lecturer

Dr. Voltan Acar graduated from Üsküdar Amerikan Academy for Girls in 1970. In 1974, she graduated from Hacettepe University Social Work Department with a higher license. She took her master's degree from Hacettepe University, Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance 1975, and received Fullbright Scholarship. She received an M.S.W from the University of Utah, Graduate School of Social Work with an emphasis on Marriage and Family Counseling and Case Work, in 1977. In 1980, she took her Ph.D degree from Hacettepe University, Psychological Counseling and Guidance Program. In the same year, she started her psychodrama training with the collaboration of Ankara University and the German Moreno Institute. In 1993, she became a psychodrama leader. In addition, she joined various Gestalt training groups from International Gestalt Education Institutions. She got a certificate of competence in Gestalt Therapy and became a gestalt therapist in 2004. She is a founding member of the Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Association and has been chairmanship for three terms. She has been awarded the Hacettepe Science award for the academic year2011-2012. Her book "Yeniden Therapötik İletişim" received a best seller award in 2015. She and her colleague developed the Voltan-Acar Molaei Integrative Model in Counseling.

Prof. Dr. İlhan Yalçın

Ankara University

Guidance and Psychological Counseling

Lecturer

Dr. Yalçın is a faculty member at Ankara University, Faculty of Educational Sciences, Guidance and Psychological Counseling Department. He received his undergraduate degree from Hacettepe University Psychological Counseling and Guidance program in 2000. Between 2000 and 2005, he worked as a psychological counselor in institutions affiliated with the Ministry of National Education. He received his master's degree in 2004 and his doctorate in 2010 from Hacettepe University Psychological Counseling and Guidance Program. He was a visiting researcher in the United States (University of North Carolina at Greensboro) with a TUBITAK scholarship between 2007-2008. He was appointed as an assistant professor in 2012, associate professor in 2015, and professor in 2021 at Ankara University. He worked as the vice dean of Ankara University, Faculty of Educational Sciences, between 2015-2020. He has been working as the Ankara University Institute of Educational Sciences director since November 2021. He is also a member of the evaluator teams of EPDAD (Teacher Education Programs Evaluation and Accreditation Association). His main academic interests are in marriage and premarital counseling, positive psychology, professional ethics in counseling, and group counseling.

Psychological Counselor Şenay Avcı, MSc

TED Ankara College Foundation Private Secondary School

Psychological Counseling and Guidance Expert and Unit Coordinator

Şenay Avcı graduated from Hacettepe University Psychological Counseling and Guidance Department in 1998. The very next year, she started her graduate program at the same university and department. She received her master's degree in 2002. She started to work as a counseling specialist at TED Ankara College Foundation Private Primary School in 1998. She works as a counseling specialist and unit manager at TED Ankara College Foundation Private Secondary School.

Dr. Nafi Ayköse

Büyük Kolej Middle School, High School, High School of Science

School Principal

Dr. Nafi Ayköse completed his undergraduate and master's education at Hacettepe University, Department of Educational Sciences, Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance, and his doctoral education at Ankara University, Department of Educational Sciences, Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance. After his undergraduate education, he started to work at Büyük College in 1999 and served as a counseling specialist, counseling service coordinator, and assistant director. He is currently the principal of Büyük College Secondary School, High School, and Science High School.

Psychological Counselor Melike Uslu Taş, MSc

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality

Women's Counseling Center and Shelter Chief

Expert Psychological Counselor Melike USLU TAŞ graduated from the Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University in 2016. During her undergraduate studies, she served as the vice president of the Psychological Counseling Club. In this role, she organized interviews with professionals in the field and was responsible for institutional visits. After completing her undergraduate degree, she pursued a master's degree in Psychological Counseling and Guidance with a thesis at Gaziantep Hasan Kalyoncu University. During this time, she worked as a school psychological counselor at a private institution for the high school level. In 2017, she started working at the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Youth, Children, and Family Counseling Center. After serving there for 6 years, she took on the role of Chief of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Women's Shelters and Women's Counseling Unit.

Additionally, she held the position of Press and Publication Secretary for the Ankara Provincial Representation of the Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Association from 2020 to 2022. As of the General Assembly held in September 2022, she continues her role as the Deputy Chairman responsible for organization in the central executive board.

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Psychological Counselor İlmiye Edepli Kaya, MSc

Ministry of Family and Social Services of the Republic of Turkey

Psychological Counselor İlmiye Edepli Kaya completed her undergraduate education in the Department of Guidance and Psychological Counseling at TED University Faculty of Educational Sciences and her master's education in the Department of Substance Addiction at Sakarya University Institute of Health Sciences. After completing her undergraduate education, she started working at TED Sakarya College and currently serves as an Expert Psychological Counselor affiliated with the Ministry of Family and Social Services of the Republic of Turkey. In her current role, she is dedicated to preventing neglect, abuse, violence cases, as well as honor killings. Additionally, she is a member of the Women and Children's Rights subcommittee of the Turkish Counseling and Guidance Association (PDR-DER) Sakarya Branch.

Psychological Counselor Şevval Özkan

TED University

Alumni Representative

Psychological Counselor Şevval Özkan was born in Ankara in 2000. She graduated with high honors from the Department of Guidance and Psychological Counseling at TED University in 2023. Following her graduation, she began her master’s studies in the Department of Educational Sciences, Guidance, and Psychological Counseling Program at TED University, where she is also working as a Research Assistant Scholar. She continues her work in career and academic counseling.

İrem Su Özgül

TED University

Student Representative

İrem Su Özgül was born in Ankara in 2001. She completed her primary and secondary education in Ankara. In 2020, she began her undergraduate studies in the Guidance and Psychological Counseling program at TED University, where she is currently continuing her education as a senior student. Throughout her undergraduate education, she has developed an interest in various academic and professional studies in the field of psychological counseling.

Between 2024 and 2025, she served as the Press Secretary of the Psychological Counselor Student Council of the Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Association. She also took part in the Organizing Committee of the 20th National Psychological Counseling and Guidance Students Congress, held on 18–19–20 July 2025.

Throughout her university life, İrem Su Özgül has participated in various academic and social activities. She has been a member of the TEDU Promotion Team under the Corporate Communications Directorate of TED University for the past three years, contributing to the university’s promotional activities.

In addition to her compulsory internships, she has supported her professional development through voluntary internship experiences and is currently continuing her work as a psychological counselor intern at a private institution.

Yeliz Sazlık

TED University

Student Representative

Yeliz Sazlık was born in Antalya in 2001. She completed her primary and secondary education in Antalya. She is currently a fourth-year undergraduate student in the Guidance and Psychological Counseling program at TED University.

Throughout her education, she has gained field experience in different institutions in the areas of school psychological counseling and forensic settings. At the Antalya Courthouse, she observed interviews conducted by pedagogues and psychologists, gaining experience related to child- and family-focused case processes.

Within the scope of school counseling practices, she completed an internship at Maya Schools and is currently continuing her internship at Batıkent Şehit Erdal Çetin Secondary School.

To support her professional development, she has participated in various training and seminar programs related to psychological counseling. These seminars focused on topics such as emotion regulation, coping with uncertainty and stress, overcoming barriers in education, and contemporary approaches in psychological counseling.

In addition, she completed a Family Counseling training program conducted by a private clinic and earned a certificate. She continues to pursue her academic and professional development in the field of psychological counseling.