Our Team

Yasin Duman (Ph.D.) studied BA in Psychology at Bogazici University (2013), MA in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at Sabanci University (2015), and completed a Ph.D. project on Forced Migration, Integration, and Intergroup Relations at the Centre for Trust, Peace, and Social Relations at Coventry University (2021).

He completed the Art Experiential training program at Birmingham Centre for Art Therapies (2018) and the Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy Diploma program at the UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy (2020).

He has been offering individual and group counseling sessions since 2017. He provided sessions to Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Şanlıurfa and Mardin as part of the protection projects conducted by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe (WHH), respectıvely.

Yasin worked as a staff consultant at WHH Mardin Office, MSYD-ASRA Ankara Office, YYD Hatay and Şanlıurfa Offices, and International Organization for Migration Offices in Şanlıurfa, Gaziantep, Hatay, and İzmir.

Yasin's area of specialization in counseling includes mild depression, anxiety, burnout, sleeping problems, phobias, conflict management, and capacity building in providing mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS).

Merve Kurt (M.Sc.) is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher, and consultant at the intersection of gender equality, refugee rights, child protection, and art-based approaches to community well-being and social transformation. Since 2015, she has been involved in humanitarian and rights-based projects, integrating expressive arts as tools for social change. She holds a BA in History from Boğaziçi University and an MA in Turkey Studies from Sabancı University. She later trained in Psychology at the University of Derby and Dance Psychotherapy at the Birmingham Centre for Arts Therapies. She completed the Expressive Arts Therapy for Mental Health and Social Change program with a community-based project exploring migrant women’s perceptions of "home" through the lens of feminist anthropology and art therapy, focusing on roots, belonging, and relational space.

Merve has also undertaken advanced training in Post-Clinical Jungian Studies, which she meaningfully integrates into her coaching practice and art workshops. Her work is informed by Jungian concepts such as archetypes, the unconscious, and symbolic language, blended with expressive art practices to support individual and collective transformation.

She has extensive experience in community-based projects. While living in London, she worked on the Bright Start project, supporting the well-being of mothers and children through inclusive, trauma-informed, and culturally sensitive programs. As part of this work, she offered yoga sessions, as well as Solihull and Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities (SFSC) trainings to migrant mothers, empowering them with tools to foster emotional resilience and connected parenting.

Her artistic work has been exhibited in platforms such as the Edinburgh Central Library, Coventry’s Herbert Museum, INALCO Paris (Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales), the Royal Scottish Academy, Rugby Art Gallery, and the Mama Proximity: New Directions in Art and Social Repair project in London. She primarily works with ceramics, felt, marbling (ebru), and abstract painting.

Informed by ecopoiesis and a commitment to holistic well-being, Merve also offers ICF-accredited mindfulness coaching sessions to both individuals and organizations.