Thorough assessment, evidence-based psychotherapy and medication management for adults with anxiety — in İzmir or online.
English speakers in İzmir dealing with persistent anxiety can receive complete psychiatric care from Dr. Ömer Orhun Ercan without a language barrier: diagnostic assessment, cognitive behavioral therapy, and medication management when needed, coordinated in a single plan. Sessions take place in person at the Güzelbahçe clinic or online via secure video across Turkey and abroad. Anxiety disorders respond well to evidence-based treatment, and many people notice meaningful relief within the first months of care.
A certain amount of worry is part of a functioning mind — it helps you plan, prepare and stay safe. In an anxiety disorder, that system gets stuck in the on position. The worry becomes constant rather than situational, jumps from topic to topic, and keeps firing even when nothing is actually wrong. Clinically, we look for excessive worry on more days than not for six months or longer, together with physical signs like tension, restlessness, poor sleep and fatigue.
The physical side deserves attention in its own right. Many people spend months investigating stomach problems, chest tightness, dizziness or headaches before anyone considers anxiety as the driver. Because Dr. Ercan is a medical doctor, the evaluation takes both directions seriously: medical causes such as thyroid dysfunction are considered and ruled out where needed, and anxiety is treated as the real medical condition it is rather than dismissed as stress.
For expats, international students and remote workers in İzmir, anxiety often has extra fuel. Residence permits, unfamiliar bureaucracy, work insecurity, distance from family and the low-grade strain of managing daily life in a second language all raise the baseline. Uncertainty is the raw material anxiety feeds on, and life abroad supplies plenty of it. When worry starts consuming your evenings, disturbing your sleep or shrinking what you are willing to attempt, it has crossed from an understandable reaction into something worth treating.
Treating anxiety in your own language matters more than it might seem. Anxiety lives in nuance — the difference between 'concerned' and 'dreading', between a passing thought and a looping one. Working in English removes the extra cognitive load of translating your inner world mid-session, so the therapy can work on the anxiety itself.
Treatment starts with a 75-minute initial assessment covering your symptoms, their history, sleep, medical background, caffeine and substance use, and current life circumstances. The goal is a precise picture: generalized anxiety, panic disorder, social anxiety and health anxiety each call for a somewhat different plan, and they frequently overlap with depression or sleep problems.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most extensively studied psychotherapy for anxiety disorders. It targets the mechanics that keep worry alive: catastrophic predictions, intolerance of uncertainty, avoidance, and reassurance-seeking that soothes for an hour and strengthens the anxiety for a week. Sessions are practical and structured, with skills you apply between appointments.
When anxiety is severe or therapy alone has not been enough, medication can help lower the volume so the psychological work becomes possible. Modern antidepressants used for anxiety are not tranquilizers and are not addictive; choices, expected timelines and side effects are explained clearly, and sedative medications, when used at all, are prescribed cautiously and briefly. Where past experiences feed the anxiety, EMDR can be woven into the plan.
Structured, evidence-based therapy that works on worry loops, avoidance and intolerance of uncertainty. Conducted in English, in person or online.
Careful selection and follow-up of anxiety medication by a medical doctor, with honest information about benefits, side effects and how long treatment usually lasts.
When anxiety traces back to difficult or traumatic experiences, EMDR helps process those memories so they stop driving present-day fear.
Psychotherapy and medication coordinated in one plan, with secure online sessions for follow-up or full treatment when visiting in person is impractical.
In-person in Güzelbahçe, İzmir — on the western coast, with free parking. Around 25–35 minutes by car from central districts such as Alsancak and Konak, and convenient for Urla, Seferihisar and Çeşme.
Online consultations in English are available across Turkey and abroad via secure video — see online psychiatry.
Yes. The assessment, therapy sessions and medication follow-up can all take place in English. Anxiety treatment depends on describing subtle internal states accurately, and doing that in your own language makes the work considerably easier.
Not necessarily. For many people, CBT alone is an effective starting point. Medication is discussed when symptoms are severe, sleep is badly disrupted, or therapy alone has not brought enough relief — and the decision is always made together, with regular reviews rather than open-ended prescriptions.
The antidepressants commonly used for anxiety disorders are not addictive, though they are tapered gradually rather than stopped abruptly. Benzodiazepines can cause dependence with prolonged use, which is why they are prescribed sparingly and for short, defined periods if at all.
Yes. Online consultations in English are available across Turkey and abroad via secure video. An initial in-person evaluation in Güzelbahçe is preferred when feasible, but fully online treatment is a realistic option when distance rules that out.
Generalized anxiety is a persistent background hum of worry and tension, while panic attacks are sudden, intense surges of fear with strong physical symptoms that peak within minutes. The two often occur together, and the initial assessment distinguishes them because the treatment emphasis differs.
The first session is used to understand your situation and agree on a personalized plan — in person in Güzelbahçe, or online from wherever you are.
This page was prepared and reviewed by Ömer Orhun Ercan, MD — Psychiatrist (Uzm. Dr.). It is for informational purposes only and does not replace a medical examination, diagnosis or treatment.