Short CV
He completed his secondary education at Tarsus American College and earned his medical degree from Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine. In 1985, through a Council of Europe scholarship, he conducted studies in England on “Community Psychiatry” and “Various Models in the Structuring of Mental Health Services.”
Between 1986 and 1988, as a British Council scholar, he studied at the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London (King’s College), receiving training in “Behavioral Therapies,” “Sexual Dysfunction and Sex Therapy,” “Marital Therapy,” and “Anxiety Disorders.”
He became an Associate Professor in 1992 and was promoted to full Professor in 2001. Following his associate professorship, he focused his work on “Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies,” “Sexual Dysfunctions,” “Marital Therapy,” and “Anxiety Disorders.” In 1996, he founded the Turkish Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapies to promote and disseminate evidence-based modern therapeutic approaches in Türkiye. He continues to serve as the President of the association and provides training both in Türkiye and internationally to advance the ethical and effective practice of cognitive-behavioral therapies.
In 1992, while serving at the Department of Psychiatry, Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, he established Türkiye’s first “Smoking Cessation Center” and the first “Sexual Dysfunction Evaluation and Treatment Center.”
In 2000, he was elected President of the European Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (EABCT). He is a founding member, diplomat, and certified trainer-supervisor of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy (USA). Dr. Sungur also serves on the International Advisory Board of the Beck Institute. In 2017, he became the first non-American President of the International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy (IACP). In 2020, he was elected President of the European Federation of Sexology, and in the same year, he became a member of the Executive Board of the World Confederation of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies. Most recently, he was elected to the Executive Board of the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS). To date, he has chaired seven international professional organizations’ world or national congresses.
In addition to conducting training programs in various countries abroad, he has served as editor, advisor, and editorial board member for numerous international and national scientific journals. Having received several national and international professional awards, Dr. Sungur was most recently honored with a “Gold Medal” by the European Federation of Sexology for his contributions to couples and sex therapy. Between 2018 and 2025, he served as a faculty member at Istanbul Kent University.