Interview with a Therapist Assignment Elif Demirtaş Department of Psychology, Özyeğin University PSY 401: Clinical Psychology Dr. Selenga Gürmen December 4, 2023 Interview For this assignment, I interviewed Nazan Sulhan, a clinical psychologist currently working at French Lape Hospital, who specializes in children and adolescent psychology. She completed her psychology undergrad program at Medipol University in 2018 and then went on to the graduate program of clinical psychology in Işık Üniversitesi and graduated in 2021. Throughout her training and career, she has specialized in the areas of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, OCD, eating disorders, trauma, communication problems, and exam anxiety. My reasoning behind doing this interview with Ms. Sulhan, was mainly based on my curiosity that formed after the case presentations that she gave to us during our summer internship period. She presented to us a very intriguing case about a 16-year-old non-binary person who has dissociative identity disorder (DID), having 3 different alters at the time. Following this case presentation, and hearing about how she as well as her client progressed throughout the therapy pushed me to know more about Ms. Sulhan. In our interview, we started by talking about how she decided to become a therapist, and if there was any specific experience and/or person that led her to this career path. Ms. Sulhan described her decision making regarding her career as a continuous process, rather than a pin-point moment that made her decide. She mentioned that throughout her life she has been complimented on how good of a listener she was by her friends and family. Thus, this recognition of her listening skills led her to research psychology and the fields within. Furthermore, a combination of her interest in the field of psychology and her innate skills led her to pursue clinical psychology. In our interview, we also talked about how the process of specializing in working with children and adolescents came about, where she mentioned her previous supervisor. She mentioned that at the beginning of her supervision journey, she did not have a specific interest to work with any particular age group, since she found different aspects interesting. Therefore, due to her lack of preference as well as the client pool being mostly adults, her therapy journey started out with adults. She mentioned that as time passed her supervisor started to assign her with adolescents and continued to assign younger and younger children. She further told me the reasoning behind her supervisor assigning younger children was because of the simple fact that her supervisor saw that she could handle it. Hence after experiencing different age groups, she decided to stick to children and adolescents. In line with all this information about her career path and how she specialized, I formed the idea that she let her fate figure its way out. After talking about how she became a clinical psychologist, we went on to discuss the most challenging parts of working with children and adolescents. Her answer to this question was not about anything that goes on in the therapy room, but what goes on outside the therapy room, specifically the behavior of the parents. She said that there were certain incidents where she could tell where the source of the problem was coming from. I was curious to know whether there was anything we could do as therapists after her answers, to which she responded that we can always direct parents to their individual therapy journey, however, most parents do not jump on to that idea. She added that she tries to build a healthy, and most importantly sturdy, structure to problem topics with schema therapy when she feels that the behaviors of the parents are unavoidable. Apart from parents’ unhealthy behaviors, them being legally in control when it comes to dropping the therapist or even the entire therapy journey altogether is another issue, she mentioned. Although there is not much you can do as a therapist when it comes down to that point, she said that she tries to avoid this situation even before it happens by building a strong sense of self in her clients. She also said that this has not been that big of an issue with older adolescent clients, since they have more independence. To continue on a lighter note, I went on by asking what the motivating parts are about being a therapist. She mentioned that whenever she felt that her clients were improving that was enough of a reward for her. Especially the moments where she gets feedback from teachers and parents on her client’s well-being, are the moments where she understands why she became a therapist. She further explained that she has clients that have been coming for over 2 years now and that seeing a child grow up to become a functional member of society is a feeling that she cannot compare to anything else. Lastly, we talked about how she copes in times of distress and predicaments. She underlined that having hobbies that make you happy and keep you distracted was a key. To further explain she gave the example that she recently started tennis again after not playing since high school. She also mentioned that she tries to keep a healthy lifestyle and stressed the idea that finding a sport that you enjoy can be lifesaving in terms of its biological and psychological benefits. Another thing that she mentioned in this part of the interview was having resources that you can turn to when you are stuck, like supervisors or colleagues. Reflection Thanks to this assignment and the opportunity of interviewing Ms. Sulhan, I was able to get a different perspective on the journey of becoming a clinical psychologist. Hearing about Ms. Sulhan’s graduate year experiences and how she left a lot of decisions up to faith, and partly her supervisors, made me feel relieved as 4th year psychology student. The reason for this is that her talking about her transition from adults to children as a client pool, made me realize how much of a rush we can be in deciding what to specialize in. Especially with the demands of today’s society, like finding a steady job as fast as we can, we don’t realize that we can be stuck in something that we do not want. Thus, her experiences brought a sense of reassurance to me, as we I try to navigate my way through a period of uncertainty. Ms. Sulhan’s supervisor navigating some aspects, emphasized the significance of identifying a supervisor whom you can trust and build a positive professional relationship. This resonates deeply with me since it highlights the crucial role that a good mentor can play in one’s professional development. Another aspect of this interview that I found very beneficial was how it made me think about whether I am suitable to work with children or not. Before this interview, due to my past experiences working with children and my current interests in the field of psychology, I had the idea that I would work better with adults. This decision-making process of mine gained clarity through a specific example that she gave during our interview. She told me about a teenage client with an eating disorder, who also had self-harming tendencies. The client’s mother, who is unhappy with her daughters’ weight, decided to put post-it notes all over the mirrors of the house with ‘’the daughters’’ goal weight on them. Due to the mother interfering with the therapy sessions, and causing personal disturbances relating back to Ms. Sulhan, she had to drop the client. While I acknowledge that it is a rare scenario, this example provided me valuable insight into potential complications that therapists could face if they decide to specialize in children and adolescents. It specifically highlighted the fact that although you are legally only the child’s therapist, you need to consider the mental health of the parents and how it will influence the therapy process. Although it is important to acknowledge that there are different complications that comes with working with adults, I believe that I would be better at navigating the therapy process with an older age group. Consequently, this incident has led me to feel more confident about my current thinking on how I might be a better fit with an adult client pool. Another noteworthy aspect that stuck out to me during the interview was when I asked about the specific methods and experiences that might have shaped Ms. Sulhan and her therapeutic approach. In response to my question, she shared with me a metaphor that she uses in her sessions to solidify the idea of how our minds are impressionable and how easily they can be influenced, which she calls the ‘’ lemon metaphor’’. She uses the example of a lemon and guides the clients through an imaginative exercise involving a sour lemon. By prompting the client to imagine how sour the lemon is, she highlights the impact their thoughts can have on their physiological responses. This example resonated deeply with me because I feel like we can underestimate how impressionable the mind can be, especially if we are talking about a young population. It also made me reconsider a thought that I previously had on how explaining abstract concepts to children might be difficult, however the lemon metaphor proved me otherwise. Last but not least, I would like to mention one more personal insight that Ms. Sulhan shared with me during our interview. She stressed the importance of going on with our own therapy journey as a therapist to ensure a healthy relationship between the client and us. With this she implied that by understanding our own emotional and psychological well-being, we can better direct the complexities that might arise in the therapy room. Her emphasis on the importance of engaging in our therapy journey made me consider my commitment to selfcare. As I write this paper, I better understand the importance of taking care of ourselves as health professionals, and how we should not underestimate the direct influence of our wellbeing on the client-therapist relationship. Reflecting on the interview with Ms. Nazan Sulhan, a clinical psychologist specializing in children and adolescent psychology, has been a valuable and insightful experience. Learning about how her clinical journey unfolded, gave me the impression that she embraced the uncertainties, which is something that I would benefit from doing. This interview shed light on the challenges and benefits inherent in working with young clients. Learning about Ms. Sulhan's motivations as a therapist, especially her sense of fulfillment when witnessing the improvement of her clients, added a deeper understanding of the emotional rewards associated with our profession. Her emphasis on the long-term impact of therapy on the clients, seeing them grow into functional members of society, showed me the meaningful and fulfilling connections that we form in this practice. She also brought my attention to the importance of engaging in hobbies that bring joy as well as maintaining a healthy lifestyle is crucial. Her emphasis highlighted the importance of self-care in a demanding profession like clinical psychology, which in my opinion is not stressed enough. Additionally, the acknowledgment of the support system through colleagues and supervisors as valuable resources during challenging times reinforced the idea of seeking assistance when needed. It reminded me that although the profession of clinical psychology can be very individual, we do not have to manage everything on our own. Overall, this interview has deepened my appreciation for the complexities of a career in clinical psychology. Ms. Sulhan's approach, both professionally and personally, served as a source of inspiration and guidance. The valuable insights gained from this assignment will surely contribute to my understanding of the multifaceted nature of clinical psychology and the dedication required to make a positive impact on the lives of clients. As I continue to explore and learn within the field, I plan to utilize the information that I have gained, thanks to this assignment.
