Psychologists’ Day Celebrated with Workshops at AUC

The “Psychologists’ Day” events organized by the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education, American University of Cyprus (AUC) were celebrated with two-day workshops held on May 8-9, 2025 at Alayköy Campus. The events, which attracted great interest from psychology students and academicians, offered important gains to the participants in terms of both professional and personal development.

Within the scope of the events, workshops titled “Journey to Psychology with Psychodrama” on May 8 and “Journey to Psychology with Cinema” on May 9 were organized. The program was organized by the Acting Head of the Department of Psychology, Spc. Clinical Forensic Psychologist Ebru Çorbacı and Lecturer Assist. Clinical Psychologist Merve Karafistan gave opening speeches. Participants were informed about the history, purpose and therapeutic function of psychodrama. The day-long practical workshops focused on empathy, emotional awareness and self-expression skills through warm-up exercises and group activities.

AUC Faculty of Education Dean Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alp Karaca said, “These workshops, which were especially deepened with group feedback, offered our students the opportunity to directly experience psychodrama techniques and observe group dynamics. This meaningful event of AUC Psychology Department reminded the importance of Psychologists’ Day and provided valuable gains to the participants both professionally and personally.”

Acting Head of the Department of Psychology, Spc. Clinical Forensic Psychologist Ebru Çorbacı stated that psychodrama practices were instructive and awareness-raising for the students. “Thanks to psychodrama techniques, the participants met practical information that they can use in their professional lives. They also had the opportunity to improve their emotional expression skills,” she said.

Commenting on the event, Uzmanm. Clinical Psychologist Merve Karafistan said, “Thanks to this two-day program, our students had the opportunity to reinforce their theoretical knowledge with practice. This experience was especially valuable for students who aim to become psychotherapists.”