‘A normal ego is, like normality in general, an ideal fiction.‘
S. Freud, Analysis Terminable and Interminable (1937)
‘Psychoanalysis is like music lessons. For five years, you do not notice any progress and suddenly you can play the piano.‘
Woody Allen
Freud’s couch with an oriental rug over it. This has started a tradition among psychoanalysts in the west to cover their couches with oriental rugs
The title definitely aims at being humorous. I can take an educated guess that Freud’s only connection to İstanbul was the oriental carpet that had been lying on his famous couch but his influence in current İstanbul culture is immense as one of the fastest growing businesses in İstanbul is psychotherapy. Very similar to Woody Allen’s NY of the 1980s, Istanbul today is a neurotic city in which millions are looking for a way out and psychotherapy has become the hype of the locals in recent years.
Tribute to Woody Allen who popularised psychoanalysis through his films. His depiction of neurotic New Yorkers feel so familiar now after İstanbul has gone through massive transformations due neo-liberalism and globalisation
The urban jungle of Istanbul for locals who have to make it happen!
So if you are an expat living in Turkey and struggling with stress, PTSD, anxiety, addiction, relational or existential issues, there is a wide range of therapists to choose from. Istanbul now hosts tons of psychotherapy centers that offer treatment approaches from classic psychoanalysis to psychodymamic therapy, from cognitive behavioural therapy to EMDR, from psychodrama to existential therapy and some of these centers have experts that can offer therapy in English and even in French or German. Online psychotherapy is also widely available now after Covid.
As locals of İstanbul, we might not be as lonely as our fellow brothers and sisters in the west due to strong family and community ties but stresses of the modern world still have its challenges especially in an overcrowded city like İstanbul but it is great to know that there are competent experts we can turn to! Here is a reliable therapist recommendation from my side who can offer therapy in Turkish, English and French if you are seeking for psychological support. Visit her website at https://www.soleysezginakten.net/.
