Dr Ozgur (Oz) Yalcin
Clinical Psychologist | National Chair, APS College of Clinical Psychologists | International Speaker & Trainer
Australian Psychologist of the Year (2024)
"The people who need the most help are too often the hardest to reach — not because they resist change, but because the frameworks we use weren't built for them."
Dr Ozgur (Oz) Yalcin, Clinical Psychologist & Director of ANIMA Health Network
Humanising the Narrative of Complex Minds
Integrating lived experience with psychometric rigour to understand neurodivergence, trauma, and human complexity.
I started here because I had to.
My path into clinical psychology was completely non-linear. After leaving school in Year 10, I spent years in the fast-paced, high-stakes hospitality sector, an environment that taught me more about human behaviour, crisis management, and genuine connection than any textbook ever could.
When I came back to education as a mature-age student, I brought that with me: a scepticism of theory that floats above real life, and a deep conviction that the gap between what we know and what we actually do in the room is where most of the damage happens.
Then, at 38, I received my own ADHD diagnosis.
It changed everything, not because it explained away difficulty, but because it made the gap visceral. I had spent years studying, researching, and practising within frameworks that I now understood had been built without people like me in mind. The tools we use to assess and treat neurodivergent individuals were often blunt, poorly calibrated, and quietly exclusionary.
That is not a small problem. That is the problem.
What I believe.
The science exists. The gap is in how we use it.
I believe that rigorous research and genuine human understanding are not opposites — they are the same thing done well. I believe that the most complex clinical presentations are not mysteries to be managed; they are stories to be understood. And I believe that clinicians and organisations equipped with the right frameworks — experiential, evidence-informed, and grounded in human development — can create lasting change.
This is why I spent seven years developing the YSQ-R, which is a psychometrically rigorous revision of schema therapy's foundational assessment instrument, now translated into multiple languages and gaining international recognition as the preferred tool for measuring early maladaptive schemas. Not because a new questionnaire changes the world. Because the right framework, in the hands of the right clinician, changes a life.
It is why I developed Me, My Modes & I, a two-day Parts and Chairwork training that puts clinicians in the room with live, unscripted demonstration rather than PowerPoint slides.
It is why the organisational training I deliver is designed to be genuinely neurodiversity-affirming, not just awareness-raising, but practically grounded in what neurodivergent individuals actually need from the systems and workplaces around them.
And it is why I speak at conferences and deliver workshops and webinars across Australia, New Zealand, and Europe — and to international audiences in Russia, Indonesia, and beyond. Not to deliver a summary of the literature, but to say something that matters to the people in the room.
What I Do.
Conference & Keynote Speaking
I speak at conferences, summits, and professional events on trauma, neurodivergence, ADHD, autism, schema therapy, and complex clinical practice both nationally and internationally. My presentations are designed to challenge assumptions, offer a new frame, and leave people with something they can actually use.
Parts & Chairwork Training
Me, My Modes & I is a two-day experiential intensive for clinicians. Live, unscripted demonstrations and practical frameworks for working with internal parts, critical voices, and complex trauma. Currently delivered across Australia and New Zealand, with international dates in development.
Organisational Training
Expert-led, neurodiversity-affirming presentations and training for hospitals, health services, universities, workplaces, and community organisations. Topics include neurodivergence, trauma-informed practice, ADHD and autism awareness, and suicide prevention. Tailored for clinical, professional, or general audiences.
Where I have spoken.
Selected conferences, keynotes and workshops.
International
ISST Inspire Conference — Thessaloniki, Greece, 2026
InPact International Psychological Applications Conference — Budapest, Hungary, 2025
Moscow Schema Therapy Society Conference — Invited Keynote, Russia, 2025
Me, My Modes & I Workshop — Auckland, New Zealand, 2025
Indonesian Psychological Association — Invited International Speaker, 2021
National
Suicide Prevention Australia National Conference — Perth, 2025
Australian Psychological Society Festival of Psychology — Gold Coast, 2025
Neurodiversity Affirming Conference — Leadership Panel, Melbourne, 2025
WA College of Clinical Psychologists — Invited Keynote, Perth, 2025
Cross-Cultural Voices Conference — Invited Keynote, Adelaide, 2025
A moment I did not see coming.
Honoured to be named 2024 Australian Psychologist of the Year
In 2024, I was named the Australian Psychologist of the Year at the Allied Health Awards, a recognition that, honestly, I did not see coming. It was a reminder that the work I care most about, bridging rigorous science with the human reality of trauma and neurodivergence, is landing where it matters.
(I was completely caught off guard and entirely unprepared for the win. The stage video is spontaneous, unpolished, and contains some very honest, human language, which is exactly how I think a moment like that should be celebrated.)
What People Say.
Credentials.
Credentials are not the point. But they are the proof.
Research & Academic
Developer of the YSQ-R — Translated into 7 languages, freely available globally
6 peer-reviewed publications across 5 international journals
Adjunct Research Fellow — Curtin University EnAble Institute
Honorary Fellow — University of Sydney
PhD, Clinical Psychology — Murdoch University
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Loftus, A. M., Yalcin, O., Baughman, F. D., Vanman, E. J., & Hagger, M. S. (2015). The impact of transcranial direct current stimulation on inhibitory control in young adults. Brain and Behavior, 5, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.332
Yalcin, O., Lee, C. W., & Correia, H. (2020). Factor Structure of Young Schema Questionnaire (Long Form-3) Australian Psychologist, 7, 223-241. https://doi.org/10.1111/ap.12458
YSQ-R: Yalcin, O., Marais, I., Lee, C., & Correia, H. (2022). Revisions to the Young Schema Questionnaire using Rasch Analysis: the YSQ-R. Australian Psychologist, 57, 8-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/00050067.2021.1979885
Yalcin, O., Marais, I., Lee, C. W., & Correia, H. (2023). The YSQ-R: Predictive Validity and Comparison to the Short and Long Form Young Schema Questionnaire. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20(1), 1778. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031778
Download Here
Fry, M. A., M. J. Boschen, S. A. Morrissey, O. Yalcin, and N. W. Burton. 2024. A Schema Conceptualisation of Psychosocial Functioning Among Transitioned Military Personnel. Cognitive Therapy and Research 48 (2): 281-291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-023-10455-9
Spicer, L., DeCicco, E., Clarke, A., Ambrosius, R., & Yalcin, O. (2024). Understanding early maladaptive schemas in autistic and ADHD individuals: exploring the impact, changing the narrative, and schema therapy considerations [Review]. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1436053
Leadership & Recognition
Australian Psychologist of the Year — Allied Health Awards 2024
National Chair, APS College of Clinical Psychologists (incoming — effective June 2026)
WA State Chair, APS College of Clinical Psychologists (2021–2023)
Director — ANIMA Health Network
Professional Advisory Body — ADHD WA
🎙️ Rebel Radio: Conversations with Allied Health Leaders
A deeply personal look at starting over. Dr Oz shares his journey from dropping out of school in Year 10, to moving to Perth with just $400, to building the ANIMA Health Network.
🎙️ Psych Spiels & Silver Linings: Adult ADHD Explained
An expert interview exploring late-stage diagnoses, emotional dysregulation, cutting through social media misinformation and what it truly means to navigate the world with an ADHD brain.
Schema Therapy
Featured Article
🎙️ Knowing Me, Knowing You Podcast: Knowing Our ADHD
A practical, candid conversation where Dr Oz unpacks ADHD from both a clinical lens and his own lived adult experience — what the science says, and what it actually feels like from the inside.
Featured Conversations.
Podcasts, interviews, and webinars on ADHD, neurodivergence, schema therapy, parts and chairwork, and practising with lived experience.
Personal Journey
🎙️ Schema Therapy Training Online: Administration and utilisation of the YSQ-R
Dr Oz (developer of the Young Schema Questionnaire–Revised) joins Dr Robert Brockman to walk through key updates to the administration and scoring of the YSQ-R. Essential viewing for schema therapy clinicians.
ADHD & Neurodivergence
🎙️ ST Made Simple: Fear of Losing Control and Emotional Constriction
Dr Oz joins Nadene van der Linden on the Schema Therapy Made Simple webinar to clarify two under-recognised patterns in schema therapy — Fear of Losing Control and Emotional Constriction. A practical session for clinicians
🎙️ Chairwork Psychotherapy Integrating Chairwork & Schema Therapy
Dr Oz joins Dr Scott Kellogg and Rodrigo Trapp for a panel discussion on bringing chairwork into schema therapy and what meaningful integration looks like in clinical practice.
Watch
A conversation with Chris Antartis on the path into psychology, where Dr Ozgur (Oz) Yalcin reflects on starting over with nothing and the experiences that shaped building something meaningful.
Rebel Radio: Conversations with Allied Health Leaders
Dr Ozgur (Oz) Yalcin, Dr Scott Kellogg, and Rodrigo Trapp explore the integration of chairwork within schema therapy and its application in clinical practice
Integrating Chairwork & Schema Therapy
Chris and Rowan Mackey from Psych Spiels and Silver Linings are joined by Dr Ozgur (Oz) Yalcin to discuss some of the benefits and challenges of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Demystifying Adult ADHD: Clinical & Lived Experience
Dr Ozgur Yalcin (developer of the Young Schema Questionnaire-Revised) joins Dr Robert Brockman from Schema Therapy Training Online to walk through key updates to administering and scoring the YSQ‑R.
Schema Therapy Training Online: Administration and utilisation of the YSQ-R
Clinical Psychologist Dr Ozgur Yalcin (developer of the YSQ‑R) joins Nadene van der Linden on the webinar Schema Therapy Made Simple to clarify two under‑recognised patterns in schema therapy.
ST Made Simple: Fear of Losing Control and Emotional Constriction
Featured Conversations.
Podcasts, interviews, and webinars on ADHD, neurodivergence, schema therapy, parts and chairwork, and practising with lived experience.
Research & Academic
Developer of the YSQ-R — Translated into 7 languages, freely available globally
6 peer-reviewed publications across 5 international journals
Adjunct Research Fellow — Curtin University EnAble Institute
Honorary Fellow — University of Sydney
PhD, Clinical Psychology — Murdoch University
-
Loftus, A. M., Yalcin, O., Baughman, F. D., Vanman, E. J., & Hagger, M. S. (2015). The impact of transcranial direct current stimulation on inhibitory control in young adults. Brain and Behavior, 5, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.332
Yalcin, O., Lee, C. W., & Correia, H. (2020). Factor Structure of Young Schema Questionnaire (Long Form-3) Australian Psychologist, 7, 223-241. https://doi.org/10.1111/ap.12458
YSQ-R: Yalcin, O., Marais, I., Lee, C., & Correia, H. (2022). Revisions to the Young Schema Questionnaire using Rasch Analysis: the YSQ-R. Australian Psychologist, 57, 8-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/00050067.2021.1979885
Yalcin, O., Marais, I., Lee, C. W., & Correia, H. (2023). The YSQ-R: Predictive Validity and Comparison to the Short and Long Form Young Schema Questionnaire. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20(1), 1778. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031778
Download Here
Fry, M. A., M. J. Boschen, S. A. Morrissey, O. Yalcin, and N. W. Burton. 2024. A Schema Conceptualisation of Psychosocial Functioning Among Transitioned Military Personnel. Cognitive Therapy and Research 48 (2): 281-291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-023-10455-9
Spicer, L., DeCicco, E., Clarke, A., Ambrosius, R., & Yalcin, O. (2024). Understanding early maladaptive schemas in autistic and ADHD individuals: exploring the impact, changing the narrative, and schema therapy considerations [Review]. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1436053
Leadership & Recognition
Australian Psychologist of the Year — Allied Health Awards 2024
National Chair, APS College of Clinical Psychologists (incoming — effective June 2026)
WA State Chair, APS College of Clinical Psychologists (2021–2023)
Director — ANIMA Health Network
Professional Advisory Body — ADHD WA
Translating Insight into Clinical Action
“True scientific advancement shouldn’t live behind academic paywalls. It belongs in the hands of the practitioners doing the deep work every single day."
🎓 Doctoral Research & The YSQ-R
My doctoral work focused on refining the global standards of schema therapy assessment. Utilising rigorous Rasch analysis across a large clinical sample, my PhD research updated the traditional 232-item instrument down to the more precise 116-item Young Schema Questionnaire – Revised (YSQ-R).
By isolating statistical data misfits from older models, the YSQ-R provides everyday practitioners with significantly clearer clinical boundaries across 20 distinct schema constructs, including dedicated parameters for Emotional Constriction, Fear of Losing Control, Punitiveness (Self) and Punitiveness (Others)."
Freely Available Resources:
📊 Automated Online Tool: Access instructions for the Online YSQ-R Scoring Program (Co-developed with Dr Jason Wessel)
⚙️ Multi-Language YSQ-R Questionnaires and Excel Scorers: Download Free YSQ-R multilingual versions
📺 Schema Therapy Made Simple: Watch: 'Fear of Losing Control & Emotional Constriction' (Co-presented with Nadene van der Linden)
📘 Introductory Guide: Download the Introductory Guide to Schema Therapy (Adapted for the YSQ-R)
-
Loftus, A. M., Yalcin, O., Baughman, F. D., Vanman, E. J., & Hagger, M. S. (2015). The impact of transcranial direct current stimulation on inhibitory control in young adults. Brain and Behavior, 5, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.332
Yalcin, O., Lee, C. W., & Correia, H. (2020). Factor Structure of Young Schema Questionnaire (Long Form-3) Australian Psychologist, 7, 223-241. https://doi.org/10.1111/ap.12458
YSQ-R: Yalcin, O., Marais, I., Lee, C., & Correia, H. (2022). Revisions to the Young Schema Questionnaire using Rasch Analysis: the YSQ-R. Australian Psychologist, 57, 8-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/00050067.2021.1979885
Yalcin, O., Marais, I., Lee, C. W., & Correia, H. (2023). The YSQ-R: Predictive Validity and Comparison to the Short and Long Form Young Schema Questionnaire. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20(1), 1778. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031778
Download Here
Fry, M. A., M. J. Boschen, S. A. Morrissey, O. Yalcin, and N. W. Burton. 2024. A Schema Conceptualisation of Psychosocial Functioning Among Transitioned Military Personnel. Cognitive Therapy and Research 48 (2): 281-291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-023-10455-9
Spicer, L., DeCicco, E., Clarke, A., Ambrosius, R., & Yalcin, O. (2024). Understanding early maladaptive schemas in autistic and ADHD individuals: exploring the impact, changing the narrative, and schema therapy considerations [Review]. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1436053
Watch: Dr Ozgur Yalcin joins Dr Rob Brockman to outline key clinical updates to administering and scoring the YSQ-R (13:16)
🪑 Experiential Parts & Chairwork Masterclasses
Intellectualising trauma or clinical complexity rarely generates deep, lasting transformation for clients. To help individuals safely bypass rigid talk-therapy ruts and process conflicting internal modes, clinicians must learn to move past standard textbook discussions and facilitate active, somatic change.
I facilitate intensive, highly interactive, and entirely unscripted 2-day workshops across Australia and New Zealand. These masterclasses equip psychologists, psychotherapists, and mental health professionals with the ready-to-use practical scaffolding required to safely navigate complex internal dialogues.
Advanced Training
In these workshops, you’ll experience live, unscripted demonstrations and actively engage in practical, experiential skill-building in parts and Chairwork techniques. This isn’t passive learning; it’s your opportunity to step into the work, try new techniques, and build real confidence in a safe, supportive environment.
You’ll leave with clear tools you can integrate into your practice immediately. If you’re ready to move beyond theory and truly transform your clinical impact, these intensives are designed for you.
Core Modality Integration:
Transdiagnostic Scaffolding: Seamlessly bridging schema therapy, structural dissociation, and gestalt therapy frameworks.
Clinical Focus: Immediately actionable practice wisdom designed to safely navigate advanced trauma and complex clinical presentations."
Watch: Dr Oz introduces the Parts & Chairwork Psychotherapy Training and what to expect over 2-days of highly experiential training (01.09).
Watch: Dr Ozgur (Oz) Yalcin, Dr Scott Kellogg, and Rodrigo Trapp explore the integration of chairwork within schema therapy.
“Dr Oz's live demonstration of an internal dialogue was both captivating and informative, and highlighted the transformative power of parts work. What truly added depth was the fact that it was completely unscripted, which allowed Oz to beautifully showcase the nuance and real-time responsiveness required when working with different parts”. - Training Participant - Clinical Psychologist (AU)
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