Background

My name is Utku Ucay (he/him), and I am registered clinical counsellor at Avery Therapy Centre. I was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey where I hold a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the Istanbul Bilgi University. After my Bachelor’s, I moved to the UK to complete my master’s degree in Mental health from King’s College London. I feel grateful to live in different countries around the world and being exposed to multiple cultures. My experiences of living abroad and making new connections led me to discover my passion, which is to help people in their healing journey.

 

I came to the realization that dark moments can appear in everyone’s lives, and I was no different. I have experienced severe depression, anxiety, and trauma at certain times in my life. Yet, with self-awareness, self-compassion, and most importantly, with the right kind of guidance, I managed to shed a light into my darkness and start my own healing journey. I truly believe that when we are well supported, when our suffering is being heard, we come back to life even stronger. I am here to help you by holding a non-judgmental therapeutic space where we can acknowledge your fears, discover your strengths, and walk together in your healing journey.

 

In addition to my counselling practice, I also work in a non-profit organization with youth at risk who is experiencing substance use issues. The program I work in operates from a harm reduction, attachment-based, trauma-informed model, which helps me to have different perspectives in my private practice. Outside of counselling, I am also a basketball coach and in my free time, I enjoy watching Formula 1, playing volleyball, having deep conversations with friends, reading novels, and meditating in nature.

 

Therapeutic Approach

Life’s hardships can break us into pieces. We may feel like we want to throw in the towel. We might lose our trust in ourselves. We might be oppressed, feeling depressed. We might feel lonely. We might be going through major transitions, grief, heartbreaks. No matter how hard life can get, we can always find the path to freedom. That is where therapy comes in. Therapy encourages you to face life’s hardships willingly, with courage and trust that can be hard to cultivate otherwise. We cannot get rid of our painful memories nor from daily struggles, but
therapy can help you to face them with kindness and start your journey towards inner peace. When we can learn to cultivate a compassionate and curious attitude to ourselves, to our traumas, to our past, we can finally go to pieces without falling apart.
 
My clients come to the session with awareness, and through deep work, developing a compassionate lens to life and ourselves, we learn together how we can put the awareness into action. My unique approach in therapy allows my clients to develop unconditional self-love and to take action towards their dreams. 
 
Drawing from various therapeutic and philosophical approaches, including  Internal Family Systems (IFS), Gestalt therapy, Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT), and Buddhism, in my practice, I integrate an anti-oppressive, trauma informed, somatic based approach that is strengths based and person-centred. Having lived in five countries and now being an immigrant in Canada, I am deeply familiar with people’s struggles with isolation in, and adaptation to, the larger society. Given my diverse background and past experiences, I take a multicultural approach to counselling. I am honored to listen your stories and look forward to connecting with you!

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My availability can be found here.