Address
Levent, Maya Meridyen İş Merkezi
Ebulula Mardin Cad. No:16
34335 Beşiktaş/İstanbul
© 2025 by Güzel Günler Klinik.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do team members have specialized areas of expertise? / What are your team's areas of expertise?
Our Professional Work Structure: Our team consists of psychiatrists, pediatricians, psychologists, clinical psychologists, developmental psychologists, psychological counselors, pedagogues, couple and family therapists, and educators. We operate through an interdisciplinary system that brings together professionals from different generations and diverse professional approaches in regular case visits. Our approach emphasizes teamwork, division of expertise, collaboration among specialists, and continuous professional development.
Our Specialization Approach: We work in small, specialized clinical teams based on problem types and age groups. Considering the nature of the issue reported to us and the child's age group, we direct cases to the most suitable specialist and team.
When previously assessed and diagnosed children and adolescents require a more in-depth and detailed approach, or when a second opinion is frequently sought due to uncertainty or treatment resistance, we refer them to these specialized teams. (For example, cases where there is uncertainty about an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, ADHD medication not yielding the expected results, or anxiety disorders coexisting with neurodevelopmental disorders and proving resistant to primary treatment approaches.)
The expertise of psychologists and therapists in our team is shaped by their foundational and graduate-level education, as well as the therapy training they have received. For more detailed information, you can access the CVs of all our specialists at https://guzelgunler.com/hakkimizda/ekibimiz.
If we determine that your concerns require specialized expertise outside of our fields, we consider it our duty to identify the appropriate professional and guide you accordingly.
How does the application process work?
You can apply to Güzel Günler Clinic in writing via https://guzelgunler.com/basvuru-ve-iletisim or by calling (0212) 351 17 54. During your application, our office managers will collect brief information from you to direct you to the most suitable specialist or clinical team. If you do not apply for a specific specialist, your information will be forwarded to our team coordinators to determine the most appropriate expert for you.
Right after your application, you will receive an Application Form and a Developmental History Inventory to fill out. This ensures that the specialist has as much information as possible before your first session. During your initial consultation, you will have the opportunity to ask questions about the process, share your expectations, and discuss your situation in detail.
How long does therapy last?
The duration of therapy varies depending on multiple factors, such as your complaint, needs, goals, unexpected issues that arise over time, and developments throughout the process. Therefore, it is unrealistic to predict or guarantee a specific therapy duration at the time of application. For example, individuals undergoing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) generally report significant progress after 16-20 sessions. However, this does not necessarily mean that all issues are resolved. Psychiatric treatment and psychotherapy are not simply repair processes. Our primary goal is to support children, adolescents, and young adults in maintaining their natural developmental trajectory, preventing deterioration in mental health, and ensuring that existing mental health challenges do not hinder their ability to meet life’s demands.
Working hours?
Our office is available for administrative matters Monday through Saturday, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Sessions can be conducted in person or online, with flexible scheduling. You can discuss specific session times with your specialist. Clinical session hours vary depending on the specialist’s schedule. For therapies requiring regular and frequent contact, please note that weekend and evening slots may already be booked in advance.
How do you determine which specialist (psychologist/psychiatrist) we will see based on our application?
Each application is reviewed by team coordinators, who are experienced psychiatrists and psychologists. Based on your reason for applying, the client’s age, the required qualifications of the specialist, and our professional experience, we direct you to the most suitable expert for an initial consultation.
A comprehensive assessment is necessary to clarify the nature and severity of the issues, understand their development, determine the necessary treatment, and set realistic expectations. Our evaluation phase is designed to answer these questions, often requiring extensive neuropsychological assessments and detailed intake forms completed by parents. Initial consultations are allocated more time than usual to ensure a thorough assessment.
Since our team works within clinical teams, psychological and psychiatric perspectives are always integrated, starting from your initial consultation. We do not make artificial distinctions such as medication vs. therapy or mild vs. severe problems—instead, we tailor our approach based on what is necessary for the individual while adhering to the "do no harm" principle.
We have been advised to begin special education, psychotherapy, and sensory integration therapy simultaneously. Additionally, we need to see a psychiatrist once a month and participate in parent counseling. Managing all of this financially and logistically seems difficult. How should we proceed?
When making these critical decisions, it is essential to consult your psychiatrist and the specialists working with you. Please feel free to share your concerns with your assigned specialist. Together, you can create a priority and feasibility plan.
We can also help identify alternative support options that match your financial and logistical situation. This includes options within our own services and recommendations from our professional network.
We came for a psychologist, but we were referred to a psychiatrist. If the psychiatrist suggests medical treatment, I am against it. What benefits can a psychiatrist provide besides medication?
The psychiatrist supports by evaluating the complainant's symptoms and complaints, conducting a medical examination, making a diagnosis, differentiating the diagnosis, planning the treatment, estimating the rest of the process, providing psychotherapy in addition to medication treatment, and offering a comprehensive roadmap for the treatment process. Furthermore, the psychiatrist will guide the patient in case there is a need for further evaluation by specialists from other medical fields (neurologist, ENT, pediatrics, etc.) or if additional medical tests (blood tests, EEG, MR, etc.) are necessary. Therefore, the psychiatrist's referral is made not only for medication treatment but also for obtaining all these supports, consultations, creating a roadmap, and contributing to the therapy process.
How often are parent meetings held?/Why are they held?
Especially when working with children and adolescents, working with parents is a natural and inseparable part of the process. Parental support and follow-up are necessary for the skills gained during the therapy process to be transferred into life and generalized, thus ensuring a more efficient progress. It is important to view these meetings as opportunities to think together with parents about the issues emerging in their child's sessions, focusing on the child, without sharing the direct content of the session. Suggestions and insights are shared and developed together with the parents.
The frequency and intensity of parental meetings depend on the nature of the problem, the child's age, and the specific needs. Parental meetings are planned at the frequency and intensity preferred by the specialist following your child (for example, every few sessions with your child). In some cases, progress can be made solely through parent-only meetings, while in cases where the child is directly working on skill development or inner world-related issues, the sessions with the parents may be less frequent.
It is common for several clinicians to work with a child and their family simultaneously. For example, a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and family therapist may all be involved. Depending on the nature of the issues, other colleagues may also be included in the process for guidance on making adjustments at school. The main goal of these decisions is to provide the best and evidence-based support.
Research has shown that when meetings with parents are conducted during the process, children and adolescents benefit more from the therapy process. In this way, parents' expectations, behaviors, family communication, interactions, etc., are addressed as a system, and support is provided to all family members. The same approach can be applied to relationships with school administration, guidance counselors (PDR), and teachers. In such cases, separate sessions may be scheduled as needed.
What is the cancellation policy? Will I have to pay if I cannot attend due to health or urgent reasons?
If you cancel your scheduled psychotherapy session less than 24 hours before the session time, you will be required to pay the full session fee. The same applies to situations where you do not show up for your appointment without prior notice (“no show”).
In cases of urgent or critical situations, such as a health issue that prevents participation, you can review this situation directly with the specialist who is following you.
Examples of what we consider mandatory reasons: "My child got sick, and I can't send them to school." "My mother-in-law was admitted to the ICU this morning."
Examples of what we do not consider mandatory reasons: "We had to schedule a math class at the same time," "We found an earlier plane ticket than we planned," "Guests stayed late last night."
Are there different fees for online sessions?
Online sessions are clinically equivalent to face-to-face sessions, so they are charged in the same way.
Can I buy a package instead of paying for each session?
We do not offer a package ("bulk") payment system for psychotherapy sessions or psychiatric consultations.
For evaluations conducted using neuropsychological tests, after the application, a test package will be created that expands or narrows based on the characteristics of the tests deemed necessary and the areas they will cover. Detailed fee information will be provided to you accordingly. In these evaluations, the fee calculation is based on a multi-step process, starting with the intake (meeting and taking a medical history) session, including the test applications, the post-test feedback session with the parents/child, and ending with a comprehensive report, all compactly charged as a package.
It is your natural right to estimate not only the fees but also the costs that are not limited to fees and to set up a system that you can handle. The initial evaluation phase is the most critical step in guiding you through this process. Although we would like it to be completed quickly, considering that the results of our work will unfold over time, we need to design the subsequent steps together after the evaluation.
Are fees charged for sessions with parents?
Parents are the most important people that children refer to when making sense of the world and themselves. For this reason, meetings with parents are an inseparable, fundamental, and important part of the therapy process with children and adolescents. These meetings are charged as sessions based on the time allocated by the specialist for you.
Will we be charged separately for family meetings other than child meetings?
Family meetings are an integral part of the process when working with children and adolescents. Therefore, every meeting is considered as a time slot dedicated to you by the specialist and is charged in the same way.
Will the support provided to the school staff be charged?
In order to assess the effects of mental symptoms on a child's school life and to gain complete information about the child’s emotional and behavioral traits in different environments, we generally prefer to exchange information with the school via email in writing, and we do not charge for this.
However, in some cases, it may be necessary to make specific educational and behavioral adjustments to meet the child's needs within the school environment. In such cases, we initiate a tailored work to inform and guide the school about the child's needs, and since mental health services are charged based on the time required for the service, the fee is determined according to the time allocated.
In mental health services, fees are measured by the time required to produce the service. The fee is decided based on the time allocated. We generally prefer to exchange information with the school in writing. When the school needs to be informed, guided, or clarified, it is typically done in a session format. If these services are provided as a school visit, the time allocated is longer, and therefore, the fee will change accordingly.
What should we say to our child before coming? What should we do if they don't want to come? Can we skip the appointment?
First, it is important to plan the conversation considering your child’s age and developmental level.
You can say that you have scheduled an appointment with an experienced person to get help/support regarding any issues you have observed your child struggling with in life (school, relationships, personal matters, etc.). It is important to define the issue not as something that only the child will solve with the expert, but as a process where you and other adults will also do your part.
Providing this kind of preliminary information about the reason for the visit will facilitate cooperation between your child and the psychiatrist/psychologist and will allow important topics to be discussed.
If you have questions regarding who is expected to attend the appointment (parent, child, etc.), please feel free to ask.
Here are some examples of phrases that may be helpful when talking to your child about the visit, based on what other parents have used over the years:
“When we have the flu or are sick, the doctor helps us get better and overcome the problem. A psychotherapist/therapist will help us with the feelings and situations we struggle with. You can tell them anything. Your mom/dad or your teachers will also give suggestions on how we can support you better.”
You can also mention the confidentiality principle: “What you tell the therapist will usually stay between you and them.”
Examples we recommend not saying: “Your behavior at school is the reason we are here; the school sent us,” “We’ll raise your grades,” “We came because you don’t like your sibling, but if you improve, we’ll stop,” “At your age, your worries and problems should be over…” (It is best to avoid phrases that might feel accusatory, increase unwillingness, or make the child feel ashamed or as though they are being blamed.)
For neuropsychological evaluation:
“They will do some activities with you to help both you and me understand the issues you are struggling with. Sometimes you’ll look at pictures, and sometimes you’ll do activities similar to brain games with questions and answers. If you get tired, the expert will adjust the pace to suit you. We will learn about the things you are good at and the things you can improve.”
Why are tests necessary/When are they conducted? How does the testing process work? Why are these tests required for accommodation requests like SAT, etc./Is a doctor’s diagnosis also necessary?
At Güzel Günler Clinic, through neuropsychological testing and psychoeducational assessment, we obtain findings that show how the brain works in a child, how learning and perception, decision-making mechanisms, and other cognitive processes occur.
In this context, we administer structured tests in areas such as cognitive functions (attention, learning, memory, executive functions, etc.), reading, writing, mathematics, motor development, language development, social perception and development, emotional development, and more. These tests help us identify both the strengths and areas that require support. Based on these test results, along with information from the family, school, the individual, and other professionals involved, we can create support mechanisms to enhance the individual’s functionality in both academic and other life areas. With the family’s consent, the results can be shared with the school and other relevant professionals, enabling us to design and implement arrangements to support the child’s academic and social-emotional development.
One of the criteria in applications to universities, especially in North America, is the standardized academic test scores (SAT, PSAT, AP, etc.). These tests are conducted by an American organization called College Board. In cases where certain conditions like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Communication Disorders, Specific Learning Disabilities, etc. may adversely affect a student’s performance on College Board-administered tests (SAT, PSAT, AP), accommodations are made to support the student and provide them the opportunity to showcase their potential under equal conditions with other students. These accommodations include extra time, additional and frequent breaks, use of computers/calculators, and/or adjustments for reading and visual support.
To access these accommodations, College Board requires internationally standardized assessments and tests to demonstrate that the individual truly needs these accommodations and that no unfair advantage is being provided. At Güzel Günler Clinic, we conduct assessments that meet the standards of institutions like College Board and provide English-language reports. In these reports, not only are the tests conducted, but
we also gather information from the student’s current teachers, details about accommodations already recognized by the school, whether the student is part of an inclusion program, previous diagnoses, and other available documents that may be required when applying. A well-supported, reasoned report is then prepared. https://accommodations.collegeboard.org/request-accommodations
In many cases, it is expected that a psychiatrist’s diagnostic report will accompany this report. If you have had a diagnosis in the past but haven’t been evaluated by a psychiatrist in the past six months, a re-evaluation by a psychiatrist is required. Our team includes the psychiatrist’s medical opinion in English in our report. If you already have a psychiatrist managing your treatment, we can include the English-language report prepared by them in our assessment.
For detailed information about the testing and evaluation process, you can visit this link: https://guzelgunler.com/hizmetlerimiz/test-ve-degerlendirme