Prof. Dr. Tarhan: “An Explosion in the Need for Psychiatrists and Psychologists Will Occur”

Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, met with professionals in the field of psychology. In his seminar titled “Positive Psychotherapy: From Theory to Practice,” Tarhan said; “If we do not take precautions, the pandemic could lead to a new epidemic of depression, a mental health epidemic. For this reason, we are entering a period where there will be a great need for psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists.”

“We need to change the structure”

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, who participated as a speaker in Akansel Eğitim's Psychology Summit program, drew attention to the increasing body and image disorders today. Tarhan said: “Among young people, there is a widespread obsession with being 'zero size'. Body image disorders and body dysmorphic obsessions are common and have spread. At some point, this becomes a disease and goes beyond fashion. The increase in these narcissistic individuals is one of the causes of unhappiness. The other reason is 'sponge-type' people who are constantly depressed. While we were trying to combat these types of people, narcissistic people emerged. Currently, positive psychology says: no, even if you are a sponge type, you cannot overcome stress, you cannot harm yourself, you cannot be at peace with yourself. If you are the other way, you appear happy, but you become selfish, opportunistic, and self-serving. In this way, a structure grows by 'devouring' others. A structure emerges where 'the powerful's word goes', not 'the righteous's word'. Therefore, we need to change this structure.”

“We will manage stress”

Emphasizing that we should not ignore stress but rather manage it, Prof. Dr. Tarhan said; “We will not see stress as an enemy, nor will we completely disregard it, but we will take it and assign a new meaning to it. Managing stress is not difficult at all. If we can do this, the foundations of positive psychology will have been established, and we will also be using psychotherapy techniques. Indeed, when I examined the positive psychology congress held in 2009, I saw that they had taken our Eastern wisdom and were presenting it to us. They systematized it, developed a methodology, and it's a good thing they did. They took our values but did not give references. There is no Rumi reference. I was very disturbed by the lack of this reference there. I said, this is our laziness; it stems from us. This was my motivation for writing books like Masnavi Therapy, Yunus Therapy.”

“An explosion in the need for psychiatrists, psychologists will occur”

Tarhan also made evaluations regarding the impact of Covid-19 and the pandemic on public health, reminding that precautions must be taken. Tarhan; “Currently, the pandemic has changed many things. During this period, rest assured that there will be an explosion in the need for psychiatrists and psychologists. It is not widely felt right now, but we, as a profession, have started to feel some stirrings. Some stable cases have decompensated and have started coming for treatment. Patients have also started coming from Europe and the Middle East. Patients from Azerbaijan cannot go to the west and are coming to us. If we do not take precautions, this could lead to a new epidemic of depression and mental health during a new outbreak. For this reason, we are entering a period where there will be a great need for psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists. We can easily say this, so everyone should at least increase their equipment during this period. If we focus on how to work with people on crisis and stress management, we can get through this period healthier.”