The Turkish Psychological Association (in

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

, ''Türk Psikologlar Dernegi''; acronym is the TPD) was founded in 1976. Its headquarters is in Ankara, Turkey.

Objectives, ethics and projects

The TPD follows several main objectives: * Providing help to psychologists and psychology organizations to reach contemporary level * Protecting the professional rights of Psychologists and solving their problems in Turkey * Facilitating union, unity and cooperation between psychologists in Turkey * Facilitating the contribution of psychology science to the public benefit * Identifying the ethical standards for the profession and maintaining these standards in the highest level Its code of ethics was adopted in 2004. It was created by Yesim Korkut (PhD), Serra Muderrisoglu (PhD) and Melis Tanik (PsyD) in Istanbul.

The LGBTI Force

In June 2014, the TPD launched a special unit to protect LGBT citizens from

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

, transphobia and other forms of

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

in society that LGBT individuals face. This unit is called the LGBTI Force. The unit hosts fundraisers, projects and meetings to spread awareness of discrimination and promote a stance against conversion of LGBT citizens. Its first meeting was 29 June 2014. Following the

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

of Turkish transgender sex worker

Eylül Cansın Eylül is a Turkish feminine given name meaning September. It may refer to: *Eylül Aslan, Turkish photography artist * Eylül Cansın (1992-2015), transgender Turkish woman whose death by suicide prompted protests and calls for international LGB ...

on 5 January 2015, the LGBTI Force released a concerned announcement of how one widely broadcast suicide often leads to more suicides, especially among adolescents and young adults. At their young age, depression and suicidal thoughts and/or actions are often considered " contagious", in a way. It encouraged the media to avoid detailed descriptions of Eylül's suicide so as to prevent the cultivation of ideas in any of the viewers' minds.

References

Medical and health organizations based in Turkey Psychology-related professional associations {{psych-stub