IMU Psychology Club organized the 3rd Psychology Days with the theme of “REFLECTION”. The event was held on 28-29 May 2022 at Ziraat Bank Library.
Psychology Days started with the speech of the Chairman of the Club, Fazilet Şevval SUCUK, on Saturday, May 28 and continued with the opening speech of Prof. Dr. Fatma Işıl BILICAN, Head of the Department of Psychology. Academicians from various universities and professional psychologists participated in the Psychology Days on both days.
The first session started with Psychologist Arzu ARSLANOĞLU’s presentation on “The Reflection of Social Taboos on Sexual Life”. She explained how social taboos affect sexual life and discussed that these taboos created today affect people’s sexual life in marriage and their position in social life. She stated that these taboos should be overcome as soon as possible and that these processes are a natural need. She analyzed the roles of men and women in society and discussed on which subjects the two sexes live under pressure in the society. Participants contributed with their questions and remarks.
The second session continued with the topic of “Reflection of Parent Relationships to the Child”. Specialist Clinical Psychologist Sema ÖZCAN took the floor to explain the subject in the session. The main topics of the event, in which the relations in the home, which is one of the most important places that shape the life of the individual, were parental relations, the problems how the child is affected by their parents, child well-being and the reflection of the relationship on the child. During the session, the effects of parenting relationships on the development of the child and how family communication can be the most healthy were discussed. In the last part of the session, the questions of the participants were answered. At the end of the session, the participants were informed about the situations in which children are affected positively or negatively by their parents.
Before the third session, a lunch break was given. In the meantime, the participants wandered around the stands in the foyer area. Specially designed notebooks made by the RetroNote Store company with the sponsorships received and dog food sent by the Firefly Association were presented to the participants. Photos were taken in the background designed by the team, and the participants left various notes in the memory corner. The bar tables in the foyer area were prepared by the team with various treats and presented to the participants.
The third session started with the topic “The Reflection of Attachment Types on Romantic Relationships”. The speakers of the event were Specialist Clinical Psychologist Merve KIYGI and Specialist Clinical Psychologist Ekrem KIYGI. This session aimed to discuss the effects of childhood relationships with parents on romantic relationships in later life. Ekrem KIYGI also touched upon concepts such as obsession with love and addiction by approaching romantic relationships from a neurological perspective and examined the feeling of love in terms of synaptic connections and hormones secreted in the brain according to our experiences in the first years of life. Merve KIYGI, who took the floor after him, shared information about the difficulties that the secure, avoidant, anxious, and avoidant-anxious attachment types we develop in the first years of life cause in romantic relationships and touched upon the role of psychological well-being in maintaining a healthy relationship. The session ended after book recommendations were made on the subject. Addressing this issue enabled the participants to develop a different perspective on relationships. It was also useful in terms of allowing them to evaluate themselves with the reflections on the type of attachment they have.
The fourth session was discussed by Psychologist Selin Cennet TÜRKER on the subject of “Reflection of Psychology to the Audience”. TÜRKER mentioned that there are many elements related to the science of psychology, especially in the TV series and movies broadcast in Turkey today. From therapy sessions to characters with psychopathology, the reflections of parts of psychology in the media were discussed in many different ways. Their effects on society and their reflections on the audience were explained. Analyzes were made about the therapist characters in some TV series and movies, the way mental disorders are reflected, and the correct and incorrect aspects of what is shown about therapy. Participants contributed with their questions.
In the fifth and last session of the day, Prof. Dr. Gökhan ORAL discussed the subject of “Psychopathology of Crime and Its Reflection on Violent Behavior”. In the continuation of the event, the relationship between crime and evil was mentioned. The history of crime, the place of today’s people with a psychopathological diagnosis in society, the difficulties in adaptation, and the relationship with the crime were mentioned. Contrary to what is thought in society, it was reported that criminal acts are mostly carried out by individuals who are called “normal” in society, and individuals who are diagnosed are “stigmatized”. Finally, case examples were given by addressing the issues related to the field such as how the judicial authorities and psychologists working in the field of crime work, what kind of situations they encounter, and what kind of path they follow in the dilemma situations. Instructorship was increased by detailing the topics. The session was enriched with question-answer and ended.
Psychology Days continued in the same place on May 29, 2022. The first workshop of the day took place in 2 sessions. Psychologist Helin ÖZEREN was the speaker on the topics titled “The Reflection of Self-Perception in Art” and “The Reflection of Art Psychotherapy on Neuroscience”. The first session was held with 14 people. The workshop that starts with awareness turned into a journey where the participants found meaning in their names. The participants, who pictured their names with the colors they chose, shared which colors they chose, why they chose them, and the descriptions, poems, and stories they wrote about their names. This workshop allowed the participants to rediscover and get to know themselves. The first session was completed with the information that ÖZEREN shared about art therapy for psychology students.
The second session was a session where the intersections of art and neuroscience were discussed, the regions that art activates in the human brain, and the hormones they cause to be secreted in the body. At the end of the session, the methods of art therapy in psychological cases were discussed with the case analysis made with the students, and the ability to interpret the cases with art therapy was gained.
As part of the workshop series, a workshop called “Reflections Drama Workshop” was held in the second session directed by Prof. Elif KIR CULLEN. The participants had the opportunity to experience the concept of reflection with different sensory modalities. In line with KIR CULLEN’s instructions, the participants participated in all activities interactively. Thanks to the constantly changing groups, the participants tried to get to know new people and communicate through their feelings by reflecting on each other. Many different activities such as creating a group rhythm with body sounds, walking in the hall by reflecting on different emotions and integrating with that emotion, reflecting the emotions of each passenger in a synchronized and continuous manner on the emotion bus, and painting the painting named “reflections of the human” over the drawing of the human body were completed in two hours. One of the most memorable activities of the workshop was the “reflect your partner’s feeling” activity. At the end of the workshop, the participants got general information about creative drama from the hall and they moved away from the stress of daily life and left with the awareness of how much and what kind of reflection they left on society as individuals.
The third and final workshop was held by sociologist Sinay AVŞAR on the topic “The Reflections of Gender Roles on Feminine and Masculine Identity”. Within the scope of the workshop, the reflections of social roles attributed to the identities of femininity and masculinity to people in terms of identity, gender, and psychology were discussed. This workshop enabled the students to look at their masculine and feminine identities and gender equality in a social context, and their memories as men and women were touched upon. The participants talked about their own gender attributions and difficulties. With the feedback received, the foundations for the new Psychology Days for the upcoming periods were discussed by the Psychology Club.
