Rana Ufuk Akin
B.A. and M.A. in Psychology; Ph.D. in Educational Sciences; RMFT
Rana Ufuk Akın has been committed to the field of psychology since 1985, specializing as a therapist in relationships, parenting, and communication skills across many areas of life.
She earned her B.A. in Psychology in 1985 after studying at the University of Evansville in US and Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. She completed her M.A. in Psychology at Boğaziçi University in 1989 and her Ph.D. in Educational Sciences at METU in 2000.
Akın became a certified Family Counselor after completing the Family Counseling Program approved by the Turkish Ministry of Education. She is a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist (RMFT) in Canada. She is a member of the True Colors International team, and the only Certified Trainer in Turkey. She also holds a Psychodrama Group Leader Diploma from the Istanbul Group Psychotherapy Association–Moreno Institute in Germany and certificates of attendance from the Albert Einstein Institute in the United States for “Empowering Parents” and “Change in Organizations.”
She began her career as a research assistant at Boğaziçi University, later worked as a school counselor in secondary education, and then moved to Ankara, where she practiced as a therapist at Dilessa Family Counseling Center.
Akın taught Interpersonal Communication as an adjunct professor at Işık University from 2016 to 2017 and at Boğaziçi University from 2017 to 2021.
She played a pioneering role in bringing the International Baccalaureate Organization’s Primary Years Programme (PYP) to Turkey in 1995. From 1996 to 2019, she attended numerous IBO workshops worldwide. She has consulted with many schools in Turkey on change management for program implementation, trained teachers in inquiry-based learning, and developed a Classroom Climate training program to support classroom integration.
Akın has presented at international and national conferences, seminars, and workshops, and has published articles in peer-reviewed national journals. She has contributed to public education through television appearances and interviews in newspapers and journals. Her book, Güç = Para + Penis (Power = Money + Penis), a psychosocial analysis of gender roles, was published in 2014.
She has served on the boards of the Turkish Psychological Association, YÖRET Foundation, and IPCSAN-Turkey. She remains a member of the 65+ Senior Rights Association, Turkish Psychological Association Istanbul Branch, Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), and Canadian Association for Couple and Family Therapy (CACFT).
Since 2021, Akın has continued her work with individuals, couples, and families in Toronto, Canada, offering online therapy in Turkish and English worldwide. In 1995, she founded PersonaLife Family Counseling Center in Istanbul, where she pioneered personal development and parent effectiveness training programs in Turkey and worked as both a trainer and therapist. Her areas of experience include relationship challenges in intimate and workplace settings, cross-cultural marriages, intrafamilial communication, parenting infants, children, and adolescents, cultural adaptation, anxiety disorders, divorce, health-related challenges, and loss.
M. Selin Savran
MA, Clinical Psychologist
She completed her BA in Psychology (in English) at Izmir University of Economics in 2013. During her undergraduate education, she did internships at Bogazici University Learning Laboratory and Bursa Cekirge State Hospital; in addition, she took part in the study titled “Hemispheric Asymmetry in Defining Facial Expressions” presented at the 16th National Congress of Psychology Students (Girne American University) and the 5th Congress of Psychology Graduate Students (Dogus University).
After graduation, she completed her Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology (Health oriented) at Okan University with her study titled "Historical Development of Grief, Intervention Methods and Its Place in DSM”. During her graduate education, she saw her clients under supervision and volunteered in cancer patients' support groups.
She trained and supervised in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), EMDR Level I and I, EMDR Flash, Short-Term Solution Focused Therapy and Family Counseling. She works with adult clients by making use of these schools. Her main areas of work include bereavement, trauma and childhood traumas, anxiety disorders, relational problems, obsessive compulsive disorder and phobias.
She provided counseling within the scope of the Metastatic Breast Cancer (mMK) Awareness and Patient Psychology Support Project supported by the Turkish Medical Oncology Association and Europa Donna Patient Association between 2019 and 2024 and continues to work as a Clinical Psychologist within the Persona Life Counseling Center since 2018.
M. Selin Savran, a member of the Turkish Association of Psychologists (TPD) and EMDR Association of Türkiye.
Burçak Gülen Morhayım
Sociologist/ Education Consultant M.A.
In 1990, she completed her high school education in Uskudar American Academy for Girls.
In 1994, she attained her bachelor’s degree in Bosphorus University Sociology Department.
Between the years 1994-2002, she has worked in corporate marketing departments of various banks and multinational companies.
In 2002, she has returned to academic life to get her M.A.
In 2005, she has attained her M.A. in Marmara University Educational Management and Audit (her dissertation: The Evaluation of the Student Affinity to the Democratic School: A Form of Alternative School).
She participated in various projects in connection with Marmara University.
She specialized in alternative and democratic education.
In 2005 she, along with her 2 teammates, has conducted the first international mass act on alternative education in Turkey: Organisation of 1st International Alternative Education Symposium. She was Organization Committee Member.
In 2007, she co-authored the book: The Coaching Skills of School Managers in the 21st Century.
In 2008, she co-edited the book: 1st International Alternative Education Symposium.
In 2009, she became Democratic Schools Country Representative and Coordinator for Educational Cities Project in Turkey. She completed her P.Y.P. trainings in U.S.A. The same year she joined Personalife team to consult schools on PYP, Inquiry-Based Learning and Learning Styles.
She started to teach/train teachers on subjects such as curriculum, inquiry, PYP, UdB and True Colors. She has worked in over 70 schools with many teachers as a trainer and also, as a consultant on such-mentioned subjects. She has mediated the implementation of PYP in many schools.
Since 2009, she has worked in over 60 companies as a trainer and a consultant on team management, self-awareness, stress management, assertiveness, communication, leadership, conflict management.
In 2016-2017 she has taught “Communication” class in FMV Işık University as a Co-Instructor.
Since 2017, she has been working as an Instructor in Bosphorus University, giving the “Introduction to Interpersonal Communication” Class.
This year, Burçak founded her own company to work with companies and schools.
She continues her own education at Harvard University
She is married and has a daughter. Speaks English and Spanish.
Yorohan graduated from Boğaziçi University with a double major in Psychology and Guidance and Psychological Counseling in 2006. She completed her master's degree in Clinical Psychology at Bilgi University in 2011 with her thesis titled “The Effect of Exposure to Violence on Violence Perception and Violence Behaviors in Adolescents”.
Yorohan started her professional life at Yeniden Health and Education Association, where she implemented many national and international projects in the field of mental health. Since 2011, Yorohan has been conducting psychoanalytic-oriented psychotherapy studies with adults. She was a part of the clinical psychologist team at Persona Life Education and Consultancy Center from 2012 to 2018. She has been continuing her psychotherapy studies in his own private office since 2018.
She also continues her adult education studies that she started at Persona Life Education and Consultancy Center. In this context, she gives trainings on various topics such as “True Colors personality colors”, “coping with stress”, “communication”, and “teamwork” in many institutions. In addition, she works as a clinical supervisor at Yeditepe University's Clinical Psychology Master's Program.