By: Azad Karimi
"I" motivated myself the most. A few of my teachers from college believed I could make it. I had a difficult life back then in many ways. But they have always supported me and I am grateful to them.
Interview Turkish Art Therapist
Şeyda Turgut
By Azad Karimi
Why do people in this period need more self-evacuation of psychological issues?
Why do we move towards more introversion without realizing that this excessive introversion leads to more social isolation of human beings? Social isolation is a reflection of the dominant behaviors of a human group in a particular society.
Maybe this kind of social isolationism is interpreted as independence and national pride. I have seen this kind of behavior among some intellectuals. But in my opinion, a dynamic and living society is a society that, while considering itself the owner of its own history, also feels solidarity with the history of human civilization. Because human civilization is not a discrete and accidental phenomenon, but all its branches in different parts of the world meet at a starting point.
By history, I mean a rich treasure trove of human memories and experiences that have been acquired over time and constitute the norms of social human behavior.
In my opinion, individual introversion is the basis of social isolationism, and if individual freedoms are restricted in society, social isolation is strengthened, and in today's world, isolated societies are marginalized and face international, political, security, economic challenges, and internal crises.
As my dear friend Şeyda says, art is one of the basic ways of discharging the accumulated inner feelings, and art therapy introduce the principled ways of this emotional discharging scientifically.
She is an art therapist and painter. She has many words to say and she is a great human being because she loves children and is interested in human beings, art, and social progress ...
She speaks openly and honestly about problems and aspirations, but with her beautiful positive thinking, she depicts the future and introduces the world as the place of life for future generations. She speaks of respect, and I agree with her, and for this reason, I humbly bow my head in reverence and praise her in front of her great character.
I wish my dear friend Şeyda success and happiness.
Thank you!
Østland-Norway
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1-Please present yourself (Name, education, Civil status and...)
.I'm Şeyda Turgut. I am an art teacher and art therapist. I live in Turkey, 32 years old and single. I moved to the UK before the Coronavirus, but a while ago, I came back to my country due to the virus.
2-what is your artistic speciality?
.I completed my bachelor's degree as an art teacher and got a master's in psychology. During my graduate years, I received many different educations. Cognitive behavioral therapy, art therapy, drawing analysis and play therapy are some of them. I have been interested in art therapy for many years, and I mostly improve myself in this field.
3- When and how did you become interested in this field of work and art? .After attending an art therapy conference in my second year of university, I decided that I should become an art therapist. But since there is no qualified art therapy education in Turkey, I decided to follow such a path.
4- Who was your motivator?
."I" motivated myself the most. A few of my teachers from college believed I could make it. I had a difficult life back then in many ways. But they have always supported me and I am grateful to them.
5- What was your parent’s reaction?
.My mother never wanted or supported me to be an Art teacher. We live in a society where art is not valued. My father was more supportive than my mother. But my mother supported me when I decided to do a master's in psychology. Despite everything, I got to this point thanks to them.
6- When did you become a professional psychologist and art teacher?
.My formal education life ended in 2019. However, I am still continuing my certification trainings.
7- Are you thankful and happy because of your activities as an art teacher and psychologist?
.As a matter of fact, I haven't had much of working life. After graduation, I decided to move to England and I prepared for this for a while. I settled in the UK on a business start-up visa. But 2 months later, the coronavirus began to spread rapidly. Therefore, my working life was short-lived. But art and psychology are part of my life. I make art wherever I am. It doesn't matter to me if it's artistically great things or small things. The important thing is to know what I need and get rid of it. What do I feel at that moment and what emotion do I want to heal? This is an important question. And then I just let myself go with the flow. Therefore, although I don't see what I do as great things, I am happy and I love them very much. But I still think that I need to improve myself much more.
8- How can you see the future of the world in terms of mental health, mental illnesses, prevention and control of dangerous mental illness, maintaining a spirit of global and international cooperation and solidarity to prevent the spread of mental illness in the world?
.The studies carried out in terms of mental well-being and the prevention of mental disorders are improving day by day around the world. I see that cooperation and support activities on this issue are increasing. Many organizations provide free therapy support and I think some states support their people in this regard. But I still don't know much for the whole world.
9- How do you see the view about your activities and culture?
.I think this question includes the perspective of Turkish society towards art and psychology...
In our society and culture, both fields are not given the value they deserve. There is a certain part of our country that values science. Maybe not even half of the population. For art, this denominator is smaller. I feel like we are going backward instead of going forward and better day by day in such matters. That small segment continues to progress, but the rest of society is not progressing much in this regard. There have been some very good developments in the field of psychology in recent years, especially after the corona virus. The public began to look a little warmer to psychological problems because everyone had serious concerns. The importance of psychological support is understood a little. In addition, the spread of online psychoeducation and publications has made the society a little more aware. Also, during this period, some people took up hobbies and turned to art when they were closed at home. Still, unfortunately, we are far behind compared to European countries. I hope we get to a better place as a society. This is my only wish.
10- Can you become one part of the cultural movement for motivation in youth or new generations in your country and so on?
.I would definitely like to be a part of the cultural movement for the motivation of the new generation, but I guess the new generation doesn't seem to need much motivation. Compared to our generation, more conscious and highly motivated individuals are coming. I guess soon they will need to motivate us.
11- How can you help our world become a better place to live?
.In order for the world to be a more livable place, we must first raise ourselves and then our children well. Respecting nature and people should be our first rule. We should be sensitive to nature and animals and respectful to other people. This world is for all of us and we are hurting and destroying it day by day. We must first learn to hug our children with unconditional love and compassion. We must teach them to love, empathize, recognize and express their feelings, be respectful to everyone and everything, be honest and helpful. If we can be like this and raise kids like this, I'm sure the world will become a better place. I teach this to all children, even all people.
12- Have you more words to say or suggest for our readers?
.Art is a colorful path to the "self". It is the most entertaining method used to get to know yourself and your emotions and express them. Talking is about cognition, but art reflects what is in the unconscious. You can realize many problems that you are not even aware of through art. It is possible to reach points that you do not know, are unaware of, and cannot understand with art. That's why art heals. Art is the most powerful tool to heal the emotions that bother you. Painting, music, literature or dance, it doesn't matter which you do! The important thing is to be able to express emotions and feel good. The important thing is to know how to use art. But today, many people are still unaware of the benefits of art. I will always do my best to help people become more aware and feel better about it! I still believe that the world will gradually become a better place and hopefully, we too can be a part of that goodness.
