Therapeutic Approaches

Client-centered counseling—developed by Carl R. Rogers—forms one of the central foundations of Asli Demirel’s therapeutic approach. At its core is the belief that every person has the inherent capacity for self-understanding and personal growth when met in an atmosphere of authenticity, acceptance, and empathic understanding.

In her work, Asli Demirel engages with her clients attentively and respectfully—without judgment, without pressure, and with genuine interest in their inner experience. This attitude creates a safe space in which change becomes possible.
Carl Rogers described three essential conditions that foster this process:

For Asli Demirel, the client-centered attitude is not merely a method, but a fundamental ethical and human stance. It forms the foundation on which she integrates other therapeutic approaches, such as systemic, emotion-focused, and cognitive behavioral methods.

This creates a therapeutic space that is grounded in scientific evidence while placing genuine human connection at its center—a space in which growth, healing, and self-efficacy can flourish.

In systemic therapy, individuals are not viewed in isolation, but within their entire life context—that is, in relation to family, partnerships, friendships, and professional environments. Difficulties or symptoms are understood as expressions of patterns and dynamics that develop within a system and can also be transformed within it.

In her work, Asli Demirel explores together with her clients how current challenges are connected to relationships, roles, and communication patterns.

Change emerges when these connections are understood and new perspectives are developed, making it possible to release entrenched patterns and find new ways of relating to others. The mindfulness practices integrated into her work support this process in a particularly meaningful way.

Mindfulness means consciously experiencing the present moment with an attitude of openness, acceptance, and compassion. This practice helps clients gain distance from distressing thoughts and emotions and develop greater clarity and self-awareness.

The combination of systemic thinking and mindful self-awareness creates a space for new perspectives, inner calm, and self-efficacy. It supports individuals in better understanding themselves and their environment and in gradually developing more authentic and fulfilling paths in life.

Behavioral therapy is based on the idea that many patterns of thinking, feeling, and behavior are learned over the course of life and can therefore be changed. It offers a clearly structured yet very human approach to better understand distressing thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, and to develop new, helpful strategies.

In her therapeutic work, Asli Demirel uses various developments of behavioral therapy, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Schema Therapy.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy combines behavioral therapeutic methods with mindfulness and values-based living. The focus is on the ability to consciously notice and accept difficult thoughts and feelings rather than fight against them. The goal is not to control or suppress inner experiences, but to cultivate an attitude of openness and acceptance.

A central component of ACT is working with one’s own values – in other words, exploring what is truly important in life. Together with her clients, Asli Demirel examines which personal values guide them, what obstacles have prevented them from living according to these values, and which internal or external factors play a role.

Through this process, clarity emerges about actual desires, and concrete steps are gradually developed to help clients move closer to their goals. This fosters greater inner freedom, self-determination, and a sense of meaning in life.

Schema Therapy complements this approach by making deeply ingrained life patterns, or »schemas«, visible. These schemas often originate in childhood or adolescence and can shape thinking, feeling, and behavior into adulthood. By consciously recognizing these patterns and their origins, it becomes possible to change them and find new, healthier ways of relating to oneself and others.

Overall, behavioral therapy helps clients strengthen their sense of self-efficacy, make conscious decisions, and experience more inner freedom and clarity in daily life. It is a practical, well-established, and individually adaptable approach that promotes sustainable change.

It was developed in the 1980s by Dr. Sue Johnson and Dr. Leslie Greenberg and is grounded in attachment theory as well as research on emotions. The goal of EFT is to help clients consciously experience, accept, transform, and use their emotions constructively in their lives.

In individual therapy, EFT helps clients notice and actively experience difficult emotions such as fear, shame, or sadness. Often, these emotions are rooted in unconscious needs or unmet desires. Through conscious emotional awareness and techniques such as chair work, inner parts of the self can be recognized and worked with. This process creates the opportunity to identify and reflect on old emotional patterns and transform them into new, functional experiences that promote greater self-acceptance, clarity, and inner flexibility.

In couples therapy, EFT focuses on the emotional connection between partners. Over time, couples often develop unconscious recurring patterns that exacerbate conflicts and misunderstandings. These patterns are frequently driven by dysfunctional emotions such as shame, anger, sadness, or feelings of abandonment, which unconsciously influence behavior and interaction. EFT helps couples to consciously experience, express, and work through these emotions together. Techniques like chair work help make internal conflicts visible and open up new perspectives. In this way, distressing emotional patterns can be transformed into functional emotions such as compassion and empathy toward one’s partner.

Through conscious emotional experiencing, couples gain a deeper understanding of themselves and each other, recognize their own responses within the relationship, and gradually develop a more stable, clear, and authentic connection.

EFT is particularly effective for addressing relationship problems, communication difficulties, fear of loss, and after traumatic experiences. By consciously working with emotions, EFT strengthens emotional intelligence, fosters inner stability, and supports both individuals and couples in creating more vibrant, mindful, and authentic relationships.

Art therapy uses creative forms of expression to make emotional, cognitive, and social processes visible and addressable. In her group therapy sessions, Asli Demirel offers watercolor painting, which provides a gentle yet direct access to participants’ emotions.

Painting can be especially helpful for those experiencing trauma-related disorders, depression, or emotional blockages, allowing emotions to be expressed, processed, and self-awareness to be strengthened.

Therapeutic guidance combines creative work with reflective engagement with one’s inner processes. Through painting, vulnerable emotional areas, creativity, and the emotional world become visible, enabling participants to observe their feelings and themselves from a certain distance. This supports a better understanding and integration of one’s own emotions. The creative process has a calming effect, encourages conscious awareness of the present moment, and enhances mindfulness. Feelings that are difficult to put into words can be expressed visually, while the implementation of personal ideas strengthens self-confidence, autonomy, and creative expression. Especially after stressful experiences, working with watercolor can help release emotional tension and activate inner resources.

Sessions take place in small groups in her studio and are flexibly adapted to the pace and needs of the participants.