Gizem Erdem, PhD, I-LMFT
I am an Associate Professor of Psychology at Koç University, an independently licensed marriage and family therapist at the State of Ohio, and AAMFT-approved supervisor and AAMFT clinical fellow.
I completed my Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Science with a specialization in Couple and Family Therapy at the Ohio State University and my B.A. in the Department of Psychology at Bogaziçi University. I was a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute for Health Research and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago (US) in 2014. Throughout my academic career, I had summer visiting scholar positions at Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), ISCTE University Institute Lisbon (Portugal), and Utrecht University (Netherlands). My up-to-date CV is available here. |
My research interests revolve around two main themes. First line of my research focuses on the program evaluation of preventive and treatment interventions targeting at-risk youth and their families. I am particularly interested in youth mentoring and evidence-based family therapy in the treatment of substance use, juvenile delinquency, their relational problems and experiences of stigma. My second line of research focuses on the role of close relationships adolescent development, transition to adulthood, mental health, and well-being. My publications are available at Google Scholar.
I received several national and international research awards in my career, including 2021 Turkish Academy of Sciences Outstanding Young Scientist Award (TÜBA-GEBİP), 2019 Science Academy Young Scientist Award (BAGEP) in Turkey and 2018 NCFR President for-a-day award and 2013 NCFR Student Award in the US. I am a senior research board member of the National Mentoring Resource Center (Chicago, US) and the chair of International Section of the National Council on Family Relations for 2023-2025. In the past, my service work included membership of the family therapy expert group at the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (Vienna, Austria) and Society for Research on Adolescence COVID 19 Task Force Committee, and an Associate Editorship of the Journal of Child and Family Studies.
In addition to my work in academia, I continue my clinical work at my own private practice, Teos Psikoloji. As a registered licensed couple and family therapist and an approved supervisor, I work with individuals, couples, and families from a systemic-contextual lens and supervise graduate students and novice therapists from clinical psychology and MFT programs. In addition to my qualifications and licenses in the US, I hold a EuroPSY Psychologist Certificate in Couple and Family Therapy in Europe and an ICEEFT Emotionally-focused Couples Therapy Level 1 Certificate. Please see clinical work page for more details on my credentials and approach.
I recruit graduate students for my Risk, Resilience, and Relationships (3R) Research Lab through GSSSH Psychology Doctoral Programs and Computational Social Science MA Program, or on voluntary basis. Please see our research lab website for further information on completed and ongoing projects along with thesis and dissertation topics. Given the interdisciplinary nature of our work, we welcome students interested in at-risk adolescents, close relationships, youth mentoring research, and family science from a variety of graduate programs. I can be reached at [email protected].