Patient Experience
As an 82-year-old with worsening memory lapses, I was terrified of dementia. My family brought me to Prof. Dr. Burcu Zaman Yağmur at Medical Park Gebze. Unlike other doctors who rushed through appointments, she spent nearly two hours with me during our first session, asking about my childhood in Kocaeli, my career as a textile engineer, and even my gardening habits. She didn't just prescribe pills; she created a 'cognitive stimulation plan' involving specific puzzles and family storytelling sessions. After three months, my recall of recent events has improved noticeably. She treats me with the respect of a colleague, not just a frail elder. Her office, opposite Fatih State Hospital, feels like a calm library, not a clinic.
Our 7-year-old son, Ali, developed severe school refusal and night terrors after a car accident. We'd seen two other psychologists who used standard play therapy with little effect. Prof. Dr. Burcu Yağmur employed a completely novel method she called 'metaphor reconstruction.' Through tailored stories involving his favorite space explorer character, she helped him reprocess the trauma. She once conducted a session where they built a 'spaceship control panel' (a modified biofeedback device) to 'regulate shield power' (his anxiety). Her approach was so engaging he asked when his next 'mission' was. The change has been profound, he's back in school and sleeping through the night. Her ability to enter a child's world is nothing short of magical.
I was referred to Prof. Dr. Yağmur during a professional crisis that felt like an emergency, I was a chief surgeon experiencing sudden, debilitating scrubbing rituals and intrusive thoughts about contamination. It was affecting my operations. This wasn't routine; it was urgent. She conducted an assessment that felt like a meticulous diagnostic exploration, differentiating between OCD, burnout, and an adjustment disorder. Her intervention combined targeted cognitive restructuring with a 'behavioral prescription' that included modified surgical prep protocols developed in collaboration with my hospital. She didn't just treat the psychologist's perspective; she understood the medical ecosystem. Her clinic's location opposite the state hospital proved crucial for our coordinated approach. She saved my career with precision and interdisciplinary intelligence.
My follow-up visits with Prof. Dr. Burcu Yağmur for managing complex PTSD from long-term trauma are unlike any therapeutic experience I've had. She remembers minute details from sessions months prior, the name of my childhood dog, the specific shade of blue I associated with safety. Each session builds on the last with a unique 'narrative thread.' Last time, she used a method involving chronological timeline cards and scent association (she had a curated set of essential oils) to help anchor fragmented memories without re-traumatization. She doesn't just listen; she co-constructs a new architecture for the self. Her expertise isn't in applying techniques, but in inventing a personalized healing language for each patient. It's slow, profound work that has fundamentally altered my relationship with my own history.