About
About İlayda Aydın
I am İlayda Aydın, a psychologist based in Amsterdam. I offer online therapy in English and Turkish, working with Schema Therapy, CBT and mindfulness-based approaches, and I am endlessly curious about where our patterns come from.
Written and reviewed by İlayda Aydın, Psychologist (MSc) · Last reviewed
Education and experience
I studied psychology at Yeditepe University in Istanbul (BA, 2021) and completed an MSc in Developmental Psychology at Maastricht University in 2023.
Before moving into private practice, I worked as a psychologist at a bariatric surgery and obesity centre in Istanbul, carrying out psychological assessments before surgery and supporting patients through the emotional adjustment and behavioural change that followed. Since 2025 I have worked as a psychological counsellor, offering individual therapy in English and Turkish.
Training
- Schema Therapy training, ISST approved, Dutch Institute for Schema Therapy (2025)
- Panic Attacks: Assessment and Intervention, The Open University (2025)
- 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, Mindfulness Institute (2022)
- Mindfulness instructor training for children (in progress, 2026)
How I work
My practice is integrative. Schema Therapy helps us understand where a pattern began, CBT gives you practical tools for the present, and mindfulness helps you stay with difficult feelings rather than inside them. We start gently and go at your pace.
Many of the people I see have built their lives in a country they were not born in, as I have. Sessions are in English or Turkish; I also speak French and Dutch.
- Schema TherapyAbout Schema Therapy →
- CBT
- Mindfulness
Registration and insurance
I am a psychologist (MSc) in private practice. I am not BIG-registered as a healthcare psychologist (GZ-psycholoog) or psychotherapist, so sessions are self-paid and not covered by Dutch basic health insurance. The fees page explains what that means in practice.