The project titled “The Role of Therapeutic Content in Domestic TV Series in the Transformation of Therapy Culture in Turkey,” supervised by Prof. Dr. Zeynep ÇETİN ERUS from Marmara University Faculty of Communication, Department of Radio, Television, and Cinema, and led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bilgen AYDIN SEVİM from Sakarya University Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, Department of Visual Communication Design, has been awarded funding under the TÜBİTAK 3005 program.
The project aims to examine the role of therapeutic content in Turkish TV series produced since 2002 in shaping therapy culture in Turkey. It addresses therapeutic themes through a phenomenological approach within the socio-cultural context shaped by Turkey’s delayed modernization process.
The 24-month project is being carried out with a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on the fields of communication, visual communication design, cinema-television, and psychology.
The research team includes Assoc. Prof. Dr. Seçkin SEVİM from Marmara University Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Film Design and Directing; Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Meltem GÖNDEN GÜZEL from Sakarya University Faculty of Communication, Department of Journalism; and Research Assistant Betül POLAT from Istanbul Medeniyet University Faculty of Letters, Department of Psychology.
Doctoral students Serpil YILMAZ and Mine GÜLŞEN from Sakarya University’s Communication Sciences PhD Program are participating as scholarship holders.
The project is expected to contribute nationally by providing a new intellectual framework for therapeutic approaches in the humanities and by offering scientific support for the development of media literacy policies. It emphasizes that public policies aimed at fostering healthy and conscious generations should consider the shifts in therapy culture shaped by the media. The project may serve as a valuable reference for researchers, universities, media professionals, and policymakers.